WEBVTT

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Welcome, and thank you for tuning in to Black

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Women Amplified, the podcast. Your host Monica

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Wisdom Tyson brings you downloadable conversations

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that matter to women around the globe. We discuss

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all things black girl magic, amplify our voices

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and transform our challenges into triumphs. Monica

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calls on her league of extraordinary women to

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push our boundaries, share their expertise and

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stories of personal transformation. Welcome your

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host of Black Women Amplified, Monica Wisdom

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Tyson. Hello everyone, this is your girl Monica

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Wisdom and I am so excited to be with you today.

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Today we have a very incredible guest and I can't

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wait to introduce you to her or for you to hear

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her remarkable story. I hope that you got a chance

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to listen to our history making Black women,

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Jasmine and Ivy, who own the amazing crystal

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mine called because I rock. They are the first

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black women in America to own a crystal mine.

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So you got to hear a historic conversation real

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time and probably for the first time. And not

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only are they the first black women to own a

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crystal mine, but it was owned by Tiffany and

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company. I mean, whoa. And when you hear their

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story and how they acquired the mine, Yes, I

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said acquired. And here are two women who were

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big in the industry. Jasmine is a former basketball

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player and philanthropist. And Ivy is a celebrity

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florist who has worked with Will Smith, Miley

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Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, all the people as their

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personal florist. And they came together during

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the great, I call it the great pause in... An

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adventure ensued and you really want to go back

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and hear that story. Not only is it amazing,

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but is the power of faith and receiving something

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that we as Black women must learn. Not we have

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our faith, but the power of receiving and saying

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yes to the opportunities that come in front of

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us. So make sure you check them out. And don't

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forget to share, rate, review the podcast on

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your favorite podcast, wherever you're listening

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to me now. Follow us on Spotify, follow us on

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Apple Podcasts, all the places where we are.

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Because as you know, you are my warriors out

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in the field letting the world know about Black

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Women Amplified. And I appreciate all of your

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support. All of it, all of it, all of it. OK,

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let me slow it down and let me breathe. Because

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today we're talking with a legendary woman. Yes,

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we are. And I'm telling you, she was in. incredible

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to talk to, a joy. And I find myself when I'm

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in these conversations that I vacillate between

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being the host and the interviewer with being

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in awe of what people are telling me. So I'm

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trying not to like geek out like, oh my God,

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that's amazing. Because you know, I celebrate

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everybody. I'm like the celebrator of all the

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people. But in talking to her, I was like, wow.

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And then I was like, wow. Like the world should

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know who you are. And that's how I feel about

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everybody that's on the podcast. The world should

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know who you are. And so anyway, let me get into

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this conversation. Since her debut on EMI Records

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in 1992, Wendy Moulton has been the voice that

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transcends genres, continents, and generations.

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She has graced stages across the world, opening

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with performers who are legendary in their own

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right, including Julio Iglesias. Michael Bolton,

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Michael McDonald, Kirk Whalum, Tim McGrath, Faith

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Hill, Vince Gill, and her dear friend Martina

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McBride. In 2020, when the world went on pause

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and the stages shut down, Wendy stepped up and

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auditioned for The Voice, completing its 21st

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season as runner -up with Blake Shelton as her

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team captain. With all of her successes, Wendy

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remains grounded in her faith and her gifts,

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understanding that the rain may come, but in

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order to shine, don't give up on yourself or

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your dreams. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome

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the incomparable Wendy Moulton. Hello, Ms. Wendy.

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Thank you for coming on the Black Women Amplified

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podcast. I am so excited that you're here and

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to have this conversation with you. You are a

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master at what you do and you have been in this

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game for a long time. So I'm curious to hear

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your stories about your life, your music and

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your career. So how are you today? I'm doing

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very well. And thank you so much for having me

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and, you know, give me this platform to share

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my story. Maybe it will encourage somebody. Listen,

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I was doing research on you. The first question

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I have to ask that has nothing to do with anything

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is was Donnie Simpson your first professional

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interview? Yes, he was. Oh, my goodness. And

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he was the king of all of that. Yes, he was the

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king of all of that. And he was my first real

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interview, you know, on that kind of magnitude,

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you know, that was nationwide, international.

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Yeah. First one. Did it look like it? Did it

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look like it? You did well, but I could tell.

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But here's the piece. My thing was she out the

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gate is sitting on Donnie Simpson's couch. Who

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does that? That's amazing. And I was so green

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that I didn't even know to be scared, because

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I had been doing it my whole life. So in that

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interview, I was, of course, happy to be in his

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presence. And I knew he was a gentleman. And

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so I was just like, try to stay calm. Try to

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stay calm. You were very calm. You were very

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composed and very sophisticated. Thank you. And

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because that's what I was like, is this her first

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one? Because, you know, you know the game much

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better than I do. You have to do the local stuff.

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You got to go to the farm. You have to do all

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the things. I'm like, oh, the gate. She's so

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happy about that moment. I really was listening

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to your music. Now you have your own distinct

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sound in the 90s. You were always compared to

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Whitney Houston. How did this feel to be in her

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lane and have to navigate through that whole

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process? Well, I want to say, you know, it was

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a plus because she was on such a high level that

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if they thought about me when they thought about

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Whitney or vice versa. Okay. Well, then that

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means I'm on the highest of levels available

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at that time. And I did do the work, you know,

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there's singers, there's eras for singers. And

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so Whitney Houston, that was my era. We listened

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to the same music growing up. That's why we had

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the same type of influences and same tonality

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because she listened to the same people I listened

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to. Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, you know,

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Aretha Franklin. So we, of course, we both had

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that gift. And, you know, it didn't bother me

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at all. And people like to have some something

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they can reference you to when you're new. They

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don't know. how to define you. And I thought

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it was great. I'm like, okay, well, at that point,

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I'm at the highest of levels. So you want to

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put me with this? Great. Thank you. I did the

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work. Yes, you did. Sitting on Donnie Simpson's

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couch. I love that your music is all, you do

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all genres. But I want to ask you, little Wendy,

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the little girl growing up in Tennessee, What

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other dreams did she have, or was music always

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your dream? No, I was terrified to be in front

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of people. But my dad was a pastor, a minister.

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And, you know, I had five other siblings, and

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we had to be in church four days a week, so there

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was no downtime. And I was terrified, so I had

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to start leading songs at eight years old. And

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I didn't want to, but, you know, it was just

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easier just to go ahead and do it. But as I got

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older, I never thought that I would be a professional

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singer because everybody in my family sang and

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all my friends were singers. I'm from Memphis.

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So it was singers everywhere. And I just knew

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they all sounded better than I did. So I just

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never saw Wendy the adult ever becoming a professional.

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I didn't see that as little Wendy and I was fanatic

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with television and so I just thought I was going

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to be corporate attorney because I like to negotiate.

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So I thought I was going to go into law and that

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didn't happen. But I'm sure you put in some fierce

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negotiations for your contracts. I know how to

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negotiate and I know how to defend myself. and

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at least ask the hard questions, you know? And

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so, yeah, that's where that debate comes in.

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So with you being in so many genres of music

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from Latin to jazz to R &B, funk, soul, blues,

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was that a conscious decision not to stay in

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one lane? No, it just, you know, it was just

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that way. I grew up in an era where you had like

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eight or nine television channels. So if you're

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gonna watch TV, You're going to watch Lawrence

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Welk. You're also going to watch Heat Hall and

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you're going to watch Soul Tag Train. You're

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going to watch Carol Burnett and the Flip Wilson

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Show and Midnight Special. And that's all you

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got. So you're going to watch those TV shows.

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And so all those shows where I was influenced

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by all those shows. When I would watch Lawrence

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Welk, I was like, what is this show? And people

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don't know. Check it out. It's a guy and people

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are dancing and he's playing the accordion. And

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it was so interesting that these people were

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dancing and then these harmonies that these singers

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were singing. I'm like, what kind of harmony?

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What is that? I was eight, seven years old. Polka

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music, honey. Polka? Yeah. Polka? And I didn't

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know what it was, but those harmonies caught

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my attention. The tonality of the singers, because

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I already had the gospel in my life and Aretha

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was mine. It still is my number one. So I had

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that. And they were so far from Aretha that I

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was like. what is that? But I love that tone

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and I got that in my ears. And then all those

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other instrumentations, they got into me too.

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And then I love television and movies. And so

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my love for music came from television, not from

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listening to music. I'm child number five out

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of six. Child number four, she was truly the

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music lover and she brought everything home.

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She brought the gospel, the rock, the jazz, you

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know, everything. She brought everything home

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and I heard a lot of stuff because my sister

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Mona was a music lover and Mona was so much of

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a music lover. She was the type of fan that used

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to write into the magazines. That takes time.

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Yes, it does. She was the type of fan that would

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write. That's commitment. That is commitment.

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You got to sit down, you got to write a letter,

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you got to put a stamp on the envelope, then

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you got to get it to the post office. So she

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was a teenager and that's just who she was until

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this day. Mona has got to be 62 and Mona still

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makes, she still knows who all the artists are.

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As far as new artists, old artists, she listens

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to music all day and all night and she makes

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her own little mix tapes. And that's who she

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is. And so Mona brought a lot of stuff home.

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And so I would get it all around. So me, you

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know, deciding to like different genres, it really

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wasn't a choice. It was just there because I

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was influenced by it all. Now deciding to sing

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at least four different genres didn't happen

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till later on in my career in my 40s because

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the record business wants you to choose a lane.

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They don't want diversity. They just want you

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to choose a lane, stay in that lane, try to build

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on it. Well, that was always a little problematic

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for me. And even when it came down to my records,

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because I just loved so many different things.

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But now in my 50s, I'm like comfortable with,

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I've realized I'm a Linda Ronstadt. She's singing

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four different genres. That's who I am. And I

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call it the Wendy Moden genre. So I'll take you

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for it. the traditional country, to Paul Simon,

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to Stevie Wonder. And I like to take people on

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a musical journey. And my original music has

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those influences too. So as a little girl, I

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didn't know that's what I was going to do, but

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it's in me and I feel like I perfected the genres

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that I do love and I make them believable because

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I stay close to the core of what they are whenever

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I switch up on genres. And, you know, that just

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comes from watching TV as a young girl. So you

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love the old black and white movies, the Doris

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Day movies, and those types of movies? I love

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some, but it's just not all. Well, the music,

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I should say, the dramatics of it all. The dramatics

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of it all, it was just the movies that were out

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there. We don't have what we have then. If you're

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gonna watch TV, it's probably a movie that was

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from the 40s or 50s. Maybe the 60s. I was glad

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when the 60s and 70s, when they started making

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movies in the 70s. Isaac Hayes doing the soundtrack

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and Quincy Jones. Then you start hearing other

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things. Mainstream. But those other influences

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from the early TV. It was the music that got

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me. It was my first ear training, just like singing

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at church was my first ear training. And all

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those types of sounds, I kept them in a memory

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bank, obviously. And I get a chance to play around

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with all that now. But I also had my foundation.

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Like Aretha Franklin will always be my number

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one. And growing up in Memphis, they didn't care

00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:39.820
what color you was. But if you couldn't sing

00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:44.279
Aretha Franklin songs, that was just it. You

00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.659
can't sing. If you can't sing, Aretha, then you

00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:51.899
are not a great singer. So, you know, that was

00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:54.120
the marker growing up. That's what I tell the

00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.179
kids because I grew up in St. Louis. I'm in St.

00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.019
Louis. And so we listen to everything. I was

00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:04.399
singing Dolly Parton. This is much as I was singing

00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.870
hip or reciting hip hop. there wasn't a distinction

00:15:07.870 --> 00:15:10.230
of this is this type of music or this is, we

00:15:10.230 --> 00:15:14.870
had everything. It was the best. It was the best

00:15:14.870 --> 00:15:17.129
because it opened you up to many things. And

00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:19.330
then you choose what you want to keep and what

00:15:19.330 --> 00:15:21.070
you want to get rid of. And you were exposed

00:15:21.070 --> 00:15:24.009
to different cultures. I mean, he all was like,

00:15:24.129 --> 00:15:28.649
what is that? But I loved it. It was funny to

00:15:28.649 --> 00:15:32.330
me. And that was the goal because what it did,

00:15:32.409 --> 00:15:34.809
what I explained to people, Now that, you know,

00:15:34.929 --> 00:15:37.830
I've infiltrated country music in my mid 50s

00:15:37.830 --> 00:15:40.590
as a middle -aged black woman, I infiltrated

00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:42.330
country music. That's the name of your book.

00:15:42.590 --> 00:15:45.049
That's the name of your book. I infiltrated country

00:15:45.049 --> 00:15:50.669
music. Middle -aged black woman. And that'll

00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:52.750
be, you know, that's something to think about.

00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:55.850
It's expressed to them that during that time

00:15:55.850 --> 00:15:58.110
when Hee Haw and Soul Train and all those things

00:15:58.110 --> 00:16:02.840
were born, it was a safe place to witness other

00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:06.639
cultures in the safety of your home. So you could

00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.940
see, oh my gosh, that, you know, the black guy

00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.399
down the corner. Oh, there are other black people

00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:17.320
in the world and they do this. Oh, country world.

00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:19.379
They open up the hill. We have a sense of humor.

00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:22.039
Oh really? We're all yeah. And we have really

00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:25.919
great music too. So we learned from each other

00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:28.899
in the safety of our homes. Cause that was the

00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:30.860
only way to do it. Cause we were all segregated.

00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.580
Very much segregated, very much segregated. So

00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:37.580
in your career, what came first, your opportunity

00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:40.700
with Michael Bolton or your record deal? My record

00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:45.279
deal came first in the 92, really in 1993, in

00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.279
the early days of 1993. And my first single was

00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.799
released in 1993. And I got the Michael Bolton

00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:55.740
tour in 1994 when I was just opening act, when

00:16:55.740 --> 00:16:59.950
he was touring, playing in arenas. And I have

00:16:59.950 --> 00:17:03.009
to tell you the story. It was between Regina

00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:06.230
Bell and myself to open up for Michael Bolton.

00:17:06.710 --> 00:17:08.549
And Michael, I know we hadn't talked to each

00:17:08.549 --> 00:17:10.789
other in years, but I know you chose me because

00:17:10.789 --> 00:17:14.849
nobody knew me. Oh. But that's OK. I was an up

00:17:14.849 --> 00:17:17.029
and coming artist. And Regina Bell was a star

00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:21.569
already. Yes. She was already had hits. And but

00:17:21.569 --> 00:17:23.569
it was good for me. And I still got standing

00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:29.339
ovations every night. Oh, snap, snap, snap. You

00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:32.259
gotta claim it. No, it happened. It was a fact.

00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:35.539
So you get your record deal, and then you're

00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:38.160
on the stage with Michael Bolton going arenas,

00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:43.619
and you're a charmed life. I also had a great

00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:46.500
manager, Dick Williams, who found me. He used

00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.299
to be head of marketing and promotion at Warner

00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:50.880
Brothers on the West Coast for many, many years.

00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:53.140
And then when he was retired, we got ready to

00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:56.059
retire, he wanted to manage artists. So he came

00:17:56.059 --> 00:17:59.259
to Memphis. to talk to this band about managing

00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:01.059
them and get them a record deal at Warner Brothers

00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:03.799
and he happened to stop in this studio in Memphis

00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:07.460
and I was singing a local commercial. I hadn't

00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:11.259
done hardly anything. I was in college and I

00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:12.880
was singing this commercial and he was like hey

00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.700
who's that girl and what does she sound like

00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:16.420
with a band and the guy was like I don't know

00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:19.019
I just hired for commercials and uh but the guy

00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:21.480
had a band his name was Nico Laris and he had

00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:24.829
a band called Coming in Berlin and so He was

00:18:24.829 --> 00:18:27.089
like, I'm in town for a couple of days. Do you

00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:29.329
mind sitting in with this band? And I said, no.

00:18:29.690 --> 00:18:31.529
At that time, Saving All My Love For You was

00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:34.309
out and Aretha's Who's Who and Greatest Love

00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:38.769
Of All. So I sang those three songs. And he was

00:18:38.769 --> 00:18:40.529
like, I think I can get your record deal. I'm

00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:42.869
like, yeah, whatever. Because I'm like, that's

00:18:42.869 --> 00:18:46.160
so far from where I think I'm going. And sure

00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:49.759
enough, a couple of months later, he came back

00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:51.619
to Memphis, coming in out of the rain, which

00:18:51.619 --> 00:18:53.839
was my single. And he had two other songs from

00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:56.339
this songwriter, Curtis Boone out of Detroit.

00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:00.619
And he's like, let's cut these three songs and

00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:01.779
I think I can get you a record deal. I said,

00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:04.920
no problem. I'm not signing anything. But we

00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.299
can try this because I knew I want to sign in

00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:09.940
no contracts. I heard about the music business

00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.119
and we'll see if you can give me a record deal.

00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:13.940
If you give me a record deal, I'll sign the contract.

00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:20.279
That's where the lawyer want to be came in. I

00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:22.119
said, he's like, no problem, no problem. I believe

00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:24.200
in what I can do. I said, no problem. And sure

00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.519
enough, he came like three months later, we did

00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:28.539
the songs and literally two or three months later,

00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.440
he had a bidding war going on between Warner

00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:36.200
Brothers, Electra and EMI Records. And he ended

00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.819
up going to EMI Records and. you know that started

00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:41.960
all of course I had to sign a contract at that

00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:45.819
point but he taught me the music business and

00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:49.039
so I learned the business from him he never did

00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.559
anything behind my back or you know where I had

00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.640
to wonder what was going to happen with my life

00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:56.400
no he put everything out in the open which I

00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.779
really appreciate and he's retired now but you

00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:02.119
know I still talk to him about different things.

00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:06.519
So you have seen the many evolution or devolution,

00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:12.920
I'd say, of the record industry. Because nobody's

00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:15.259
getting a deal anymore. People are having to

00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:17.920
sell off their catalogs just to make any money

00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.599
anymore. How are you navigating, how did you,

00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:23.700
and I have a whole lot of questions in between

00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:26.519
this, but since we're here, how are you navigating

00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:29.700
from where you are now to what you knew then?

00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:33.900
Then I had help, which was Dick Williams and

00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:36.400
he wanted to protect me. And so we made decisions

00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.339
together. The industry was still what it was.

00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:41.779
And because I was a part of it in the mid nineties,

00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:45.299
the late nineties, it had ended as far as artists

00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:47.900
development, as far as record companies really

00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:52.640
investing in artists. And then I think rap or

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.130
hip hop. was becoming king. And so our style

00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:58.630
of singing, that part of the music industry was

00:20:58.630 --> 00:21:03.049
dying in the 90, 98, 99. So I've been able to,

00:21:03.410 --> 00:21:06.529
when my record deal was over, I had to decide

00:21:06.529 --> 00:21:09.190
if I was going to stay in the game or not because

00:21:09.190 --> 00:21:12.390
the music business had changed and the big ballad

00:21:12.390 --> 00:21:16.589
singer was not as important. and they had the

00:21:16.589 --> 00:21:19.829
biggest queens, which was Whitney, Celine, and

00:21:19.829 --> 00:21:22.190
Mariah. So, you know, like I said, I was always

00:21:22.190 --> 00:21:23.630
number four, but number four don't get nothing.

00:21:25.349 --> 00:21:30.109
But, you know, self -therapy helps too. But,

00:21:31.490 --> 00:21:36.009
you know, I realized Julio Iglesias found me

00:21:36.009 --> 00:21:40.089
in that time and that transition of pop R &B

00:21:40.089 --> 00:21:43.029
ending. and figuring out what I was going to

00:21:43.029 --> 00:21:45.470
be. And then the labels weren't as interested

00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:47.809
anymore in the late 90s because the music had

00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:51.890
changed. And they had the top three biggest selling

00:21:51.890 --> 00:21:55.170
vocalists ever. And they were happy and content.

00:21:55.230 --> 00:21:57.390
So I was like, what am I going to do? And then

00:21:57.390 --> 00:22:01.289
Julio Iglesias found me and asked me to be his

00:22:01.289 --> 00:22:04.349
duet partner. And I said, I'll stay for a year

00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:06.809
because he's a living legend. I can learn something.

00:22:07.230 --> 00:22:10.619
I figured I'd stay for a year. And I ended up

00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:12.660
staying 15 years because I didn't know how to

00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:14.779
get back to the front. I didn't know how to become

00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:18.920
a solo artist anymore. And I made crazy money.

00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:21.680
And I was learning how to be a better singer

00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.900
and artist because I'm like one of the greatest

00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:26.200
in the world. And I felt like I was getting paid

00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.640
to learn. So he shared his homes and planes and

00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:32.480
that whole unrealistic lifestyle. I did all that,

00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.740
you know, all that beautiful. OK, so now I want

00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:39.400
another juice. Yeah. Where'd you go? Who'd you

00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:48.160
meet? What'd you do? I mean, well, we met. I

00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:50.059
mean, we performed for a lot of presidents and

00:22:50.059 --> 00:22:53.180
prime ministers of countries. And so history,

00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:56.259
all of them. I mean, even like Putin, I was at

00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:59.359
the Kremlin like three times, you know, Syria,

00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:03.019
Serbia, Kazakhstan, Gazan, London, you know,

00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:07.640
Africa, right after apartheid, you know, so and

00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.990
just I've been I'm one of the few people, maybe

00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:13.269
three to five percent, that has seen the whole

00:23:13.269 --> 00:23:17.029
world multiple times. And I got paid to do it.

00:23:17.289 --> 00:23:19.589
And I went to all of the museums, every country

00:23:19.589 --> 00:23:23.009
I would go to, I would go to the museums and,

00:23:23.009 --> 00:23:25.970
you know, read up on the culture, try the food

00:23:25.970 --> 00:23:29.349
and the wine and the people. And I love history.

00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:33.680
And so with Julio, I had to sing in four languages,

00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:36.200
but I had to just learn them phonetically. Of

00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.180
course I had English, but I don't speak Spanish,

00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:41.920
Portuguese, or French, but he recorded in four

00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.220
to five languages. That's why he was one of the

00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.779
top -selling artists in music history, right

00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:49.740
there with Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Everybody

00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:53.180
else in their early days had pockets of success,

00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:57.160
this country or that country, but Julio and Elvis

00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.259
and the Beatles were everywhere when there wasn't

00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.240
when it used to take six months for new music

00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:06.039
to circulate. So here I am with one of the greatest

00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:09.240
singers in music history, getting paid to learn

00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:12.380
how to be a great artist. And he taught me how

00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:15.579
to be a great singer and performer. And he knew

00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:18.259
my strengths better than I did. And I didn't

00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:20.759
think I would stay 15 years, but I didn't know

00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:22.299
what I wanted to do or how I was going to get

00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.480
back out there. So I figured I'll just continue

00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:27.980
to learn, continue to see the world and grow.

00:24:28.190 --> 00:24:31.970
And I did that until it ended and then country

00:24:31.970 --> 00:24:34.349
music world opened up and I started touring with

00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:36.970
country music artists like Faith Hill, Tim McGraw,

00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:40.430
their big arena tours as their background singer.

00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:43.170
And, you know, I did a lot of sessions and I

00:24:43.170 --> 00:24:44.970
look at it like this. All the people that I tour

00:24:44.970 --> 00:24:48.809
with, I was anonymous enough to pull it off because

00:24:48.809 --> 00:24:51.690
had I been too big of an artist, it just wouldn't

00:24:51.690 --> 00:24:54.470
work. But I was anonymous enough. They knew where

00:24:54.470 --> 00:24:57.799
I came from. But if I said yes to the gig, I'm

00:24:57.799 --> 00:24:59.440
there as your background singer. I understand

00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:01.079
what it's like to be out front. You're going

00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.180
to get a lot more sympathy and empathy from me.

00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.740
And I get it. It's hard being out front. But

00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:08.960
I said, if I'm going to be a background singer,

00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:11.319
I got to be a background singer to the stars

00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.359
till I can figure out how to be back out front.

00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:16.900
And only my work ethic and, you know, when I

00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:18.819
would negotiate for fees and everything, I would

00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:20.960
talk to the artist. I don't want a middle person.

00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:24.339
I know that's right. I'm not talking to you people.

00:25:25.309 --> 00:25:28.230
I don't mind it, but I need to have a true understanding

00:25:28.230 --> 00:25:30.970
of who you think you're hiring. And I'm going

00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:35.029
to give 100 % and I'm not out here behind you

00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:39.069
dreaming of other things. If I say yes to the

00:25:39.069 --> 00:25:42.190
gig, I'm here for your dream. That's it. And

00:25:42.190 --> 00:25:44.980
my good friend, Martina McBride. when i was touring

00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.000
with her i didn't tell her my past i never talk

00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.319
about my past because you're hired as a background

00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:52.900
singer so she said but it was something different

00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.079
about you i don't know what it was and she started

00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:57.440
doing research and she was like here i go Whitney

00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.000
Houston i said well you know what i need your

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.660
money to pay for my dreams right now deal deal

00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:05.779
because if i didn't need to do that i wouldn't

00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:09.980
be doing it but you know so i said yes to a lot

00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:13.119
of gigs and i said no to a lot of gigs and you

00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.609
know And that just kept me going until COVID

00:26:16.609 --> 00:26:19.430
shut everything down. And when COVID shut everything

00:26:19.430 --> 00:26:22.609
down, I said, this is my way back, because everybody

00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:24.589
was afraid about how they were going to make

00:26:24.589 --> 00:26:26.609
it. The stars were afraid, how are we going to

00:26:26.609 --> 00:26:29.509
make this work? Entertainment was a luxury. It's

00:26:29.509 --> 00:26:32.349
not a necessity. And so I said, well, here's

00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:35.849
my way back. Here's my way back. And everybody

00:26:35.849 --> 00:26:38.940
got to start over a little bit. And I said, I

00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:41.119
need TV. What can I do as a middle -aged black

00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:43.160
woman to get out there again? Because I don't

00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:45.619
care how great you sound. The industry wants

00:26:45.619 --> 00:26:48.680
10 -year -olds who are amazing. And that's what

00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.700
made me decide to go on The Voice. Now, did you

00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:54.400
ever consider going overseas? Because I know

00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.859
the Poynter Sisters had a residency in Singapore.

00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:00.980
And I know singers that have had great careers

00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:03.180
outside of this country because this country

00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:06.380
is so specific in what they want. Was that ever

00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:08.779
a consideration for you? Oh, yeah, but I was

00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:12.500
already kind of touring and I had big Asian markets

00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:15.160
and some European markets that were big for me.

00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:18.819
And then it ended because my era of music ended.

00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:23.980
OK. So that ended. However, I want to entertain

00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:26.819
those things again because I know that I have

00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:30.940
a classic voice and. not many there of course

00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:33.440
there's millions of classic singers but as far

00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.319
as the stars are concerned they're either no

00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:39.099
longer with us or not doing it anymore so i'm

00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:42.799
like the girl that you know your budget can't

00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:44.880
afford mariah carey at a million two or three

00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:47.339
million for the night i'm the other girl i can

00:27:47.339 --> 00:27:53.039
take 800 i'm the other girl okay so that's where

00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:55.960
i see myself right now on a realistic level so

00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.470
when you were on tour with these amazing people,

00:27:59.690 --> 00:28:03.210
Michael Bolton. I can't get my words together.

00:28:04.190 --> 00:28:09.410
Michael McDonald. Yes. I got a Kirk Whelan story

00:28:09.410 --> 00:28:12.849
for you. But how were you able to, because you're

00:28:12.849 --> 00:28:15.650
a very confident and strong person, I can tell.

00:28:15.930 --> 00:28:20.369
Even though you didn't fathom being the entertainer

00:28:20.369 --> 00:28:24.410
that you are, how were you able to put all that

00:28:24.410 --> 00:28:27.950
aside to stand by somebody every night and support

00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:31.289
their dreams. Like what is it in you? Is it something

00:28:31.289 --> 00:28:33.789
you had to learn or you already knew that once

00:28:33.789 --> 00:28:35.789
you made a decision, I'm just moving forward

00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:38.390
with it? Well, first of all, I need to make a

00:28:38.390 --> 00:28:42.109
living. Yeah. And after that, I still didn't

00:28:42.109 --> 00:28:45.829
know who I was as an artist. So here I have these

00:28:45.829 --> 00:28:49.660
opportunities to learn. from other artists and

00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:51.599
you can learn because you close you with them

00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:53.799
every day you're breaking bread you're traveling

00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:57.559
and what did i recognize was that they were suffering

00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.039
with the same things i was how did the show go

00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:02.880
tonight was i good do i have enough to do it

00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:05.920
you know all the i was scared you know all the

00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.519
regular stuff once i saw that they have the same

00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:12.599
concerns i was like oh okay they're just humans

00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:15.339
which i knew but you don't know till you see

00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:19.140
it and you see that they also have self -doubt

00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.160
and they want to work on their craft and they

00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:24.140
want to be great and I've been fortunate to work

00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:27.720
with really great artists who really work hard

00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:31.160
and they appreciate the people that they are

00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:36.220
surrounded by. So witnessing that and experiencing

00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:39.859
that If I knew who I was back then, I probably

00:29:39.859 --> 00:29:41.720
wouldn't have done it. But I still was trying

00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:43.480
to work out who I am as an artist. What did I

00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.299
want to sing? What is it that I want to say to

00:29:45.299 --> 00:29:47.480
the people? Well, you know what? I'll go and

00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.460
work with this artist till I can figure this

00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:53.900
out. And why not have the classroom be the king

00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:59.559
of so -and -so and such -and -such? Why am I

00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:02.220
going to learn it if I ain't in it? Right. You

00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:04.140
know, and so you got to be in it because what

00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:07.539
it did was it helped me define what I really

00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:10.299
want out of my career and what I don't. Stuff

00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:13.480
like, you know, do I need to have billions of

00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:16.279
followers? Maybe not. Do I need to own a private

00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:18.140
plane and all the expense that goes with that?

00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:20.640
What I decided was not really. Now they got a

00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:23.279
whole lot of private companies out there if you

00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:24.619
just got to have a private plane, but you don't

00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:26.940
need the three to four or five million dollar

00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:30.140
maintenance every year for a plane. So that's

00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:33.650
just stuff that I just feel like, OK, I don't

00:30:33.650 --> 00:30:35.910
really need that. It's cool to have. Because

00:30:35.910 --> 00:30:38.289
I was living with it for 15 years, and somebody

00:30:38.289 --> 00:30:40.809
else was covering it. And I was like, this is

00:30:40.809 --> 00:30:45.049
cool, but I don't need that. So it helped me

00:30:45.049 --> 00:30:47.789
define what I really want and what I don't need.

00:30:47.970 --> 00:30:51.470
So what is it you really want right now? I want

00:30:51.470 --> 00:30:54.910
my own. i want my career i want to be known as

00:30:54.910 --> 00:30:56.230
one of the greatest singers in the world because

00:30:56.230 --> 00:30:59.710
i did the work i want to always be encouraging

00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:04.769
and always grow musically and my purpose is that

00:31:04.769 --> 00:31:10.130
when i sing that it's uh like my ministry it's

00:31:10.130 --> 00:31:13.369
not christian but the goal is to reach the spirit

00:31:13.369 --> 00:31:15.390
and reach the soul and make them feel something

00:31:15.390 --> 00:31:18.410
they haven't felt before and i and we get that

00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:20.809
from our favorite singers and artists that we

00:31:20.809 --> 00:31:23.019
listen to We listen to them because they make

00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:27.000
us feel something. And whether it's joy or to

00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:28.640
make you feel like you can keep going on, I've

00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:30.559
always wanted to be able to be one of those type

00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:35.460
artists. Now I am. And I know. And what Julio

00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:38.180
taught me was he knew I was a balladeer. So I

00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:39.859
like the same balance, no matter what genre.

00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:44.480
And the goal is to make the room go silent. The

00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:47.700
room goes quiet. And I've reached them. And the

00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:50.440
other thing is I want to speak to spirit. But

00:31:50.440 --> 00:31:52.380
the other thing is, I want them to be thinking

00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:55.680
of their own thoughts. I'm just amused. I'm just,

00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:58.859
yeah, I got a gift. What to do? I got a gift.

00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:01.200
But if I can make you, if I can put a smile on

00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:03.240
your face, if I could, I just did a concert in

00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:05.720
Franklin theater in Franklin, Tennessee. And

00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:08.519
this big time producer, Paul Worley, he was a

00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:11.440
big record company guy and he was in the audience

00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:14.000
and he said, you know, you just made me cry.

00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:16.400
My wife was crying. That's what I want to do.

00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:20.380
I want to go right into that spirit where I create

00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:24.819
joy. I create a moment where it makes you just

00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:28.640
tear up and that's my job. And what I learned

00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:32.200
from Julio the most is I don't sing any song

00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:34.980
that don't move me. Growing up as a young artist,

00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:37.960
I got tons of records of songs I didn't connect

00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:40.180
to because I didn't know that. I just sang them

00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:42.559
pretty, they're pretty, but I had no connection

00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:45.339
to the song. So now I don't do that because it

00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:47.960
is like a ministry for me. I do want to reach

00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:50.460
the spirit. When I decide to go on The Voice,

00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:52.359
That's what I said. I said, I don't know how

00:32:52.359 --> 00:32:54.319
long this game going to go. I don't even know

00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:57.299
what this game is, but I'm going to leave my

00:32:57.299 --> 00:33:00.019
ego at the house and I want to go in there and

00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:03.000
I want to reach people through that television

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:05.859
and have them feel something that they can't

00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:10.380
even articulate. But it's something and I have

00:33:10.380 --> 00:33:14.279
so many people reach out to say, you know, you

00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.819
made me cry or this and I don't want to make

00:33:16.819 --> 00:33:18.559
them cry. I just want to know that I've touched

00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:22.329
them. I got it. It worked. well you unlock something

00:33:22.329 --> 00:33:26.190
yes you unlock something because i think in this

00:33:26.190 --> 00:33:30.029
era that we're in that is really strange people

00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:33.809
are very tense and very guarded i don't want

00:33:33.809 --> 00:33:37.190
to be fake it needs to be real yeah and you unlock

00:33:37.190 --> 00:33:41.900
something when you sing yes and that's And I

00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:45.460
know how to do it consistently. And it was because

00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:47.799
of, you know, the gift that I had, I had great

00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:50.839
parents too. And working with all these great

00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:54.259
artists, I saw everything I needed to see. I

00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:57.259
saw everything to help me define who I want to

00:33:57.259 --> 00:34:00.880
be, or who I am. You know, I've been to the top,

00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.359
you know. God showed you what it looked like.

00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:06.789
And now he's saying, go get it. Yeah, go get

00:34:06.789 --> 00:34:09.030
what you want. Because I got a prime example.

00:34:09.269 --> 00:34:12.550
I have this photo of my first time I ever been

00:34:12.550 --> 00:34:16.269
to a cabin, a law, I'm not a law cabin, but a

00:34:16.269 --> 00:34:18.570
cabin. My nephew graduated from college, and

00:34:18.570 --> 00:34:21.489
he was like, I want the whole family to go to

00:34:21.489 --> 00:34:23.969
have a cabin retreat. I'm like, I don't do no

00:34:23.969 --> 00:34:27.389
cabins. But OK, I went in Gatlinsburg, and we

00:34:27.389 --> 00:34:30.449
had this big cabin. We had about 14 family members,

00:34:30.449 --> 00:34:34.610
and it was like four floors. When i saw it was

00:34:34.610 --> 00:34:38.809
so beautiful i saw the sky the top of the mountain

00:34:38.809 --> 00:34:42.010
the highest part of the trees and i saw below

00:34:42.010 --> 00:34:45.809
me and i said that's what my career is because

00:34:45.809 --> 00:34:47.889
you know the top of the mountain is lonely it

00:34:47.889 --> 00:34:51.469
can be cold at the bottom is a lot of dirt down

00:34:51.469 --> 00:34:53.590
there and there's insects you got to fight with

00:34:53.590 --> 00:34:57.389
but to have that whole view of everything that's

00:34:57.389 --> 00:35:00.639
what my career is. I can see the sky, the mountain,

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:02.960
the tip top of the mountain in the middle there.

00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:05.079
I can see the top of the trees, the middle of

00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:06.860
the trees, the bottom all the way down to the

00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:12.300
ground. So that's my outlook on my life, my career.

00:35:12.679 --> 00:35:16.139
I rather have that view and there's more. There's

00:35:16.139 --> 00:35:18.820
more beauty, more appreciation and more community

00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:22.019
or community. Now, before we get into the voice,

00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:24.980
because I do want to hear about that story, you

00:35:24.980 --> 00:35:28.829
grew up in. Tennessee, the South in the midst

00:35:28.829 --> 00:35:32.050
of the civil rights movement. What memories do

00:35:32.050 --> 00:35:35.570
you have of that and how did that impact you

00:35:35.570 --> 00:35:37.510
growing up? I don't have any memories because

00:35:37.510 --> 00:35:41.730
I was born in 1964. Okay. Segregation, integration

00:35:41.730 --> 00:35:44.250
was ending. I think the civil rights bill was

00:35:44.250 --> 00:35:47.730
signed in 65. So when I was born. There was three

00:35:47.730 --> 00:35:51.809
bills between 65 and 68. Okay. So all I've known

00:35:51.809 --> 00:35:55.269
is integration. That's all I've known. So Being

00:35:55.269 --> 00:35:59.829
in Memphis, another plus I had was my uncle,

00:36:00.010 --> 00:36:03.130
my mother's brother, was one of the pastors at

00:36:03.130 --> 00:36:06.690
Ben Hooks Church. So I ended up going to kindergarten

00:36:06.690 --> 00:36:10.969
at Ben Hooks Church. And Ben Hooks created, you

00:36:10.969 --> 00:36:14.389
know, the NAACP. He created at Ben Hooks. And

00:36:14.389 --> 00:36:17.690
so my uncle was a pastor at his church. And I

00:36:17.690 --> 00:36:22.130
went to kindergarten there. I was a day. Tried

00:36:22.130 --> 00:36:24.409
these different little tests with all kinds of

00:36:24.409 --> 00:36:26.989
cool. They used to be this show called rumper

00:36:26.989 --> 00:36:35.510
room. Yes girl. Yes From the Memphis what? Because

00:36:35.510 --> 00:36:39.389
they had LA New York Chicago and I think Memphis

00:36:39.389 --> 00:36:42.269
and I was in rumper room They put us with all

00:36:42.269 --> 00:36:44.690
these different type children all the different

00:36:44.690 --> 00:36:47.860
races to see how we were interact And every,

00:36:48.099 --> 00:36:49.719
you know, I didn't find out until I got older

00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:51.900
that Miss Betty, that was just a character. It

00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:54.039
was Miss Betty in Chicago, Miss Betty in New

00:36:54.039 --> 00:37:01.260
York City. So I was a part of that. You know,

00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:05.699
I also was a part of during that time, they decided

00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:07.900
if your birthday was late, your birthday was

00:37:07.900 --> 00:37:11.000
November, that they held you back a year because

00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:13.460
they feel like you would be more mature when

00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:15.820
we go to school. You'd be more independent. That

00:37:15.820 --> 00:37:19.960
was true. I was more independent. I was and always

00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:25.159
been. So I've been the test of a lot of situations

00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:27.639
and changes that they were trying to create during

00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:31.099
those times. But integration is all I've known.

00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:33.360
I know there's racism out here, don't get me

00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:37.639
wrong, but I didn't have to live through segregation,

00:37:37.900 --> 00:37:41.519
my siblings did. And, you know, they don't tell

00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:44.039
too many stories, but our parents were realists.

00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:47.059
And so we didn't act like it didn't happen. You

00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:49.880
know, that was reality every day. Yeah, I was

00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:52.260
the same as you. I was the one of the first black

00:37:52.260 --> 00:37:55.360
kids to go into the integration, going to the

00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:57.559
white school. So I don't know what it's like

00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:00.239
to be separated like that. And I've heard the

00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:02.340
stories of my uncles and my aunts and, you know,

00:38:02.340 --> 00:38:06.599
my older cousins, but my first school. with white

00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:10.639
kids. You know, I didn't get bused. My elementary

00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:12.719
schools were black in the black neighborhood.

00:38:12.739 --> 00:38:16.320
Okay. Okay. And I didn't get until I got bused

00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:20.099
to junior high school that I could become integrated.

00:38:20.099 --> 00:38:22.059
I mean, you know, what we would, cause, but I

00:38:22.059 --> 00:38:24.199
mean, I would have to say that our education

00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:27.320
systems, when it was all black was strong. I

00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:30.199
mean, we got educated, you know, we got nurtured.

00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:34.460
You all were taught by scholars. Yeah. Exactly.

00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:39.099
And so my elementary school was a black school.

00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:41.940
And I remember we grew up across the street from

00:38:41.940 --> 00:38:44.599
this huge park. It was called Glenview Park.

00:38:44.980 --> 00:38:47.280
And it was so beautiful and well -maintained.

00:38:47.460 --> 00:38:48.960
I used to think we owned the park, because I

00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:50.960
was playing there every day. My dad owned the

00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:54.539
park. Technically, we pay taxes. But just growing

00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:59.800
up with a huge park, a big house, and a big backyard

00:38:59.800 --> 00:39:02.300
with a big acorn tree, I guess, yeah, pecan tree,

00:39:02.820 --> 00:39:06.119
all that helped. with development. And my parents

00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:10.920
had to be strong because they did integrate into

00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:14.059
a white neighborhood. And that park was prime

00:39:14.059 --> 00:39:17.239
real estate. And but, you know, because Benjamin

00:39:17.239 --> 00:39:21.179
Hooks was in Memphis and the CP was created there,

00:39:22.059 --> 00:39:24.679
then, you know, they were just like, OK, we're

00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:27.500
going to get rid of these lines. And so it took

00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:32.179
my my parents to be to be courageous to go do

00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:37.239
that. To do that and they did and you know that

00:39:37.239 --> 00:39:40.280
they used to live in the projects with four little

00:39:40.280 --> 00:39:43.800
kids Okay, they lived in the projects with four

00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:46.480
little kids and they still made it happen But

00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:47.960
even in the projects people used to take care

00:39:47.960 --> 00:39:50.760
of each other. Yes, it was community. It wasn't

00:39:50.760 --> 00:39:53.820
like it is now. It wasn't crime about we got

00:39:53.820 --> 00:39:55.420
each other we got to watch each other's back

00:39:55.420 --> 00:39:58.039
so them take them decide okay we're gonna go

00:39:58.039 --> 00:40:00.440
get this house because we can and they open up

00:40:00.440 --> 00:40:02.980
things where we can and we you know i grew up

00:40:02.980 --> 00:40:05.019
in let me say one two three five bedroom house

00:40:05.019 --> 00:40:07.340
with upstairs and two bathrooms that's how i

00:40:07.340 --> 00:40:10.400
grew up across the street from the park that's

00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:18.039
all i know big stuff that's a little princess

00:40:18.039 --> 00:40:21.880
in this house no no not even oh there was no

00:40:21.880 --> 00:40:24.480
princess in our house my mom was like not having

00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:27.619
it i know it's like when you think when you look

00:40:27.619 --> 00:40:30.880
at the vision of what the perception of what

00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:33.820
people think we grew up like and the reality

00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:39.059
of how we grew up is vastly different. You know,

00:40:39.099 --> 00:40:41.420
we had accountability we had to deal with and

00:40:41.420 --> 00:40:44.119
our house was also the house because my dad was

00:40:44.119 --> 00:40:47.400
such a unique man and my mom too. He, you know,

00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:51.320
wasn't afraid to show affections to men and comfort

00:40:51.320 --> 00:40:53.519
people because he was a pastor. So he prayed

00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:55.539
for people, you know, it'd be guys in the neighborhood.

00:40:55.539 --> 00:40:57.019
I didn't find out for years. We're like, when

00:40:57.019 --> 00:40:59.059
you got like $20 and he just give it to him.

00:40:59.260 --> 00:41:01.030
We didn't have money we weren't rich but he felt

00:41:01.030 --> 00:41:02.349
like you know what they needed more than that

00:41:02.349 --> 00:41:04.570
dude he didn't talk to nobody about it he just

00:41:04.570 --> 00:41:08.929
did it. Our house was the house that people would

00:41:08.929 --> 00:41:12.849
just come to get love to come just to exhale

00:41:12.849 --> 00:41:15.230
for a minute to come when you know they don't

00:41:15.230 --> 00:41:17.670
get along with their parents or you know you

00:41:17.670 --> 00:41:19.869
just feel like our house was that house that

00:41:19.869 --> 00:41:22.670
you hang out with your kids hung out at grown

00:41:22.670 --> 00:41:25.630
people hung out I mean we were just that house

00:41:25.630 --> 00:41:28.860
where people could exhale. It was hard. It was

00:41:28.860 --> 00:41:33.659
still hard during the 60s and 70s. You all created

00:41:33.659 --> 00:41:35.599
the space for them to breathe. That's beautiful.

00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:38.320
And now you create the same thing with your music.

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:44.519
So tell us about your decision to go onto The

00:41:44.519 --> 00:41:47.679
Voice. You had this amazing career and now you're

00:41:47.679 --> 00:41:50.940
on a huge platform again called The Voice. Tell

00:41:50.940 --> 00:41:53.820
us about that journey. COVID shut everything

00:41:53.820 --> 00:41:56.559
down and changed everybody's life. And what you

00:41:56.559 --> 00:41:58.599
thought you had, you didn't have no more. And

00:41:58.599 --> 00:42:01.000
we didn't know what was going to happen when

00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:05.820
everything started coming back to life. But I

00:42:05.820 --> 00:42:07.960
knew it. I saw it as an opportunity. I said,

00:42:07.980 --> 00:42:11.639
OK, this is a great opportunity to revamp my

00:42:11.639 --> 00:42:14.880
solo career. And then I said, I asked myself,

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:17.320
how are you going to do it? And I said, I need

00:42:17.320 --> 00:42:21.320
TV. And I asked myself, what? kind of television

00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:24.059
can you stomach at your age because we're in

00:42:24.059 --> 00:42:26.800
a society where you share and you tell everything

00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:29.719
and I'm from the era that you don't share anything

00:42:29.719 --> 00:42:31.800
and whatever you do don't boast and talk about

00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:35.300
yourself. So I was like what can you stomach

00:42:35.300 --> 00:42:37.920
and do your ultimate best? I said okay I can

00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:40.940
do the voice because at least they take singers

00:42:40.940 --> 00:42:45.340
seriously and the goal was to stay get there

00:42:45.340 --> 00:42:48.550
and stay as long as I could. and with the hopes

00:42:48.550 --> 00:42:50.190
of getting a lot of visibility so I could get

00:42:50.190 --> 00:42:53.409
booked as a solo artist. That was how I was going

00:42:53.409 --> 00:42:57.789
to start my solo career. That's that lawyer thinking

00:42:57.789 --> 00:43:03.670
again. Don't do it, man. I didn't tell anyone.

00:43:03.989 --> 00:43:06.289
I didn't tell my family. I didn't tell my guy,

00:43:06.369 --> 00:43:08.510
David Santos, who I've been with for 27 years.

00:43:08.610 --> 00:43:10.869
I didn't tell him I was making a video. Now wait

00:43:10.869 --> 00:43:13.750
a minute. No, no. I couldn't because he was going

00:43:13.750 --> 00:43:16.110
to be worried. Like when he did find out, he

00:43:16.110 --> 00:43:18.389
said those same words. What are you doing? These

00:43:18.389 --> 00:43:20.469
people can't teach you anything. You know more

00:43:20.469 --> 00:43:22.940
than all those people. And I knew, but... I knew

00:43:22.940 --> 00:43:25.780
it was the only thing I had. So I said, I'm going

00:43:25.780 --> 00:43:27.639
to send a video in. I ain't going to tell nobody.

00:43:28.019 --> 00:43:30.780
And if they reject me, no one would know. And

00:43:30.780 --> 00:43:34.579
I can still live with myself. Or reject me because

00:43:34.579 --> 00:43:38.019
I had too much experience. but if they take me

00:43:38.019 --> 00:43:40.699
then I know that this is the path I need to be

00:43:40.699 --> 00:43:43.559
on. So and I did it just catacall like everybody

00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:46.800
else. I sent the video in from my home and you

00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:48.639
know I didn't tell nobody and then like a month

00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:50.800
later they reached out. He's like hey we want

00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:52.960
you to come out to LA. We'll let you know something

00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:54.699
in a couple of months. I said okay but we want

00:43:54.699 --> 00:43:57.179
you to come. I'm like great. I still hadn't told

00:43:57.179 --> 00:44:00.000
anybody. Finally I told David and he was like

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:02.360
honey you don't need to do that. What are they

00:44:02.360 --> 00:44:04.300
gonna teach you? I'm like honey I got nothing

00:44:04.300 --> 00:44:06.469
because I'm gonna tell you something. When they

00:44:06.469 --> 00:44:09.530
wrote me back and they said, we want you to come

00:44:09.530 --> 00:44:12.750
to L .A. Give us a few months. I said, OK. I

00:44:12.750 --> 00:44:15.489
had a dream. My sister said it was a vision.

00:44:15.849 --> 00:44:19.250
And in this dream, I was in a pitch black desert.

00:44:19.710 --> 00:44:21.769
Nothing on either side of me and nothing behind

00:44:21.769 --> 00:44:24.610
me. Pitch black in a desert. But in front of

00:44:24.610 --> 00:44:28.710
me was this huge white building had white neon

00:44:28.710 --> 00:44:32.369
lights and it had the voice little Mike and two

00:44:32.369 --> 00:44:34.989
fingers thing. And the voice that I heard said,

00:44:35.210 --> 00:44:38.030
If you have the courage to keep walking this

00:44:38.030 --> 00:44:40.030
way and walk through those doors, everything

00:44:40.030 --> 00:44:42.889
gonna be all right. My sister said that was a

00:44:42.889 --> 00:44:46.030
vision. I said, okay. So I said, it's all I got.

00:44:46.190 --> 00:44:48.730
There was nothing to distract me on either side.

00:44:48.949 --> 00:44:51.289
And there was nothing behind me, pitch black.

00:44:51.610 --> 00:44:53.230
So it was a no -brainer. But it said, if you

00:44:53.230 --> 00:44:55.530
have the courage to keep walking that way. And

00:44:55.530 --> 00:44:58.329
mind you, I was begging for a tour to pull up,

00:44:58.429 --> 00:45:03.639
anything in this video. Stop me. I'm doing this

00:45:03.639 --> 00:45:05.420
because I don't know if this is the right move

00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:07.900
to make because it's reality TV. I don't know

00:45:07.900 --> 00:45:09.820
if I'm made for reality TV. That's what I kept

00:45:09.820 --> 00:45:13.360
thinking. So literally three days before it's

00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:14.699
time for me to get on the flight, I still hadn't

00:45:14.699 --> 00:45:17.300
told my family. David knows, haven't told my

00:45:17.300 --> 00:45:20.159
family and I'm in the fetal position and I'm

00:45:20.159 --> 00:45:23.719
crying myself to sleep. I'm so terrified wondering

00:45:23.719 --> 00:45:26.650
if I had made the right choice. Are they going

00:45:26.650 --> 00:45:29.590
to destroy the 35 years I built? Is this going

00:45:29.590 --> 00:45:32.909
to harm me in any kind of way? And I was so terrified

00:45:32.909 --> 00:45:36.329
that my sister in Memphis, Debbie, she called

00:45:36.329 --> 00:45:39.210
the next day and she said, what is going on?

00:45:39.489 --> 00:45:41.789
I felt you all night, but I figured you were

00:45:41.789 --> 00:45:44.150
all right because David was at home and he would

00:45:44.150 --> 00:45:47.449
have called me if there was an emergency. I said,

00:45:47.449 --> 00:45:50.849
I'm going to the boys and I'm leaving in three

00:45:50.849 --> 00:45:55.719
days. And she was like. You have to let us know

00:45:55.719 --> 00:45:57.599
about that kind of stuff and you're going to

00:45:57.599 --> 00:46:00.460
do fine. And she prayed for me, but she felt

00:46:00.460 --> 00:46:03.340
that fear all the way in Memphis. That's a three

00:46:03.340 --> 00:46:04.820
hour drive. You know, you were in St. Louis.

00:46:04.980 --> 00:46:07.719
That's a three hour drive. And I told myself

00:46:07.719 --> 00:46:11.079
I wanted to remind. I wanted to remember the

00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:14.039
fear I had. I want to remember how scared I was

00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:18.619
when I took that leap. I remember it. And so

00:46:18.619 --> 00:46:20.820
I share it with everybody. I share that story

00:46:20.820 --> 00:46:23.280
because that happened. And then I went on and.

00:46:23.400 --> 00:46:26.699
three days later I was landing in LA and I said

00:46:26.699 --> 00:46:29.179
I'm gonna leave my ego at home and I'm just gonna

00:46:29.179 --> 00:46:31.340
concentrate on the challenge of the week because

00:46:31.340 --> 00:46:33.019
I'm a nice person anyway I ain't worried about

00:46:33.019 --> 00:46:36.239
that but I also didn't want to get on myself

00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:40.599
and you know just this is a new reality and you

00:46:40.599 --> 00:46:42.800
just learn from it like you have everything else

00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:46.400
and the goal was to encourage others there and

00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:49.659
encourage myself and and just be an encouragement

00:46:49.659 --> 00:46:53.730
really. And I'm sure you brought a level of professionalism

00:46:53.730 --> 00:46:56.469
that they had not seen. Oh, totally. And I'm

00:46:56.469 --> 00:46:59.010
not the only one. You're right. Go ahead. But

00:46:59.010 --> 00:47:01.849
I mean, the level, yeah, I mean, it's not like

00:47:01.849 --> 00:47:04.889
CeeLo was next to, you know. You know what I'm

00:47:04.889 --> 00:47:06.869
saying? You were with people who have probably

00:47:06.869 --> 00:47:09.610
had great careers, but the level of career you

00:47:09.610 --> 00:47:12.449
had, the integrity that you have as an artist

00:47:12.449 --> 00:47:15.070
is something not necessarily the people there,

00:47:15.110 --> 00:47:18.150
but the world has not seen. And the kids have

00:47:18.150 --> 00:47:19.809
definitely not seen it unless they're still watching

00:47:19.809 --> 00:47:24.289
Michael Jackson videos. Exactly. But what I knew

00:47:24.289 --> 00:47:26.210
was I wasn't the only artist had been there.

00:47:26.369 --> 00:47:28.820
There had been other artists there. So I knew

00:47:28.820 --> 00:47:32.579
that, but I knew that a lot of them hadn't had

00:47:32.579 --> 00:47:34.960
all the stuff that I had. I know I had more than

00:47:34.960 --> 00:47:37.860
most people and I'm going to be, you know, professional

00:47:37.860 --> 00:47:39.840
anyway. So I was professional with the crew and

00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:42.519
the producers and they all saw me as one of them

00:47:42.519 --> 00:47:44.280
because that's what I did for profession for

00:47:44.280 --> 00:47:47.099
35 years. So I know how to treat the crew. I

00:47:47.099 --> 00:47:49.260
know how to treat everybody. I don't treat everybody

00:47:49.260 --> 00:47:52.679
anyway, but I went there to learn and I went

00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:56.780
there to be open and to do my ultimate best and

00:47:56.940 --> 00:47:59.980
I felt like it worked out. And, you know, you

00:47:59.980 --> 00:48:01.619
know, we'll go where you want to go from that

00:48:01.619 --> 00:48:03.079
point, because, you know, you know about the

00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:06.400
fall. Yes, I have a question. Did you know Blake

00:48:06.400 --> 00:48:09.400
before you got to The Voice? No, everyone thought

00:48:09.400 --> 00:48:15.059
I did. I mean, Vince Gill and Martina McBride,

00:48:15.099 --> 00:48:19.099
you don't get much deeper than that. He doesn't

00:48:19.099 --> 00:48:22.880
live. He lived in L .A. and Oklahoma. Oh, OK.

00:48:23.239 --> 00:48:27.360
So there was no other we had. same friends or

00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:30.320
associates, we'd never met, we'd never worked

00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:32.599
together. And he didn't know anything about me.

00:48:32.599 --> 00:48:34.179
And all throughout the show, he kept saying,

00:48:34.380 --> 00:48:36.699
my phone is burning up because of you was blowing

00:48:36.699 --> 00:48:41.139
up. My friends know you. I'm like, hey, I've

00:48:41.139 --> 00:48:44.659
been doing this a long time. You should have

00:48:44.659 --> 00:48:48.239
said, welcome to my world. You want to come meet

00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:54.119
my friends? He was loving that part of it. No,

00:48:54.260 --> 00:48:57.980
we didn't know each other. Now is this the experience

00:48:57.980 --> 00:49:01.199
that inspired your song Don't Give Up? No, David

00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:03.559
and I, David Santos and I have been together

00:49:03.559 --> 00:49:07.480
26 years now. We wrote it in 2009 and I think

00:49:07.480 --> 00:49:09.820
we were trying to encourage each other because

00:49:09.820 --> 00:49:12.559
he's a touring musician too. He played bass for

00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:15.360
Billy Joel, Crosby, Stills and Nash, John Fogerty,

00:49:15.539 --> 00:49:18.750
Melissa Etheridge, Toto. The Neville Brothers.

00:49:19.130 --> 00:49:21.289
And so he had been in the game a long time, too.

00:49:21.769 --> 00:49:24.269
And we were working on trying to write some soul

00:49:24.269 --> 00:49:26.210
music together, because he's really a blues dude

00:49:26.210 --> 00:49:28.289
at heart. He made his money playing rock and

00:49:28.289 --> 00:49:31.610
roll. And we wrote Don't Give Up together. He

00:49:31.610 --> 00:49:33.969
did all the music and everything and some of

00:49:33.969 --> 00:49:35.710
the lyrics. I came up with a few lyrics here

00:49:35.710 --> 00:49:38.550
and there. The second verse in particular is

00:49:38.550 --> 00:49:40.590
my verse because I was living it. So we wrote

00:49:40.590 --> 00:49:43.090
that song, but it wasn't really to be heard yet.

00:49:43.239 --> 00:49:46.360
So I did the voice and then I was getting ready

00:49:46.360 --> 00:49:48.579
to work on some new music and we decided to cut

00:49:48.579 --> 00:49:52.900
that song. And hey, it made sense. So all the

00:49:52.900 --> 00:49:55.599
people who knew me from the 90s, my career in

00:49:55.599 --> 00:49:58.320
the 90s, they wondered where I was. They recognized

00:49:58.320 --> 00:50:01.239
I hadn't given up. And then with the voice people,

00:50:01.780 --> 00:50:04.920
they saw me fall and break my elbow on the show

00:50:04.920 --> 00:50:06.699
in front of millions of people. And the next

00:50:06.699 --> 00:50:08.980
day I was on the set with two broken arms. So

00:50:08.980 --> 00:50:13.800
they saw me ride that out. And so then when I

00:50:13.800 --> 00:50:16.900
went back to The Voice this past May for Blake's

00:50:16.900 --> 00:50:19.179
send -off show, they could see that I was all

00:50:19.179 --> 00:50:21.860
right. And I released a song during that week

00:50:21.860 --> 00:50:24.059
so I could have something to talk about. And

00:50:24.059 --> 00:50:27.699
it's a personal testimony that I'm living. It's

00:50:27.699 --> 00:50:30.599
a beautiful song. I love it. It was very touching.

00:50:30.739 --> 00:50:34.880
And I have to say this. The cover, fly. Hair,

00:50:35.239 --> 00:50:43.510
makeup, clothes. 50 what? 50 who? Listen, you're

00:50:43.510 --> 00:50:47.769
having your renaissance. Yes. Now, what does

00:50:47.769 --> 00:50:50.329
the star signify on your eye? Just something

00:50:50.329 --> 00:50:53.510
my makeup artist wanted to do. I said, okay.

00:50:53.550 --> 00:50:55.989
You gotta find a story. Please find a story.

00:50:56.789 --> 00:50:58.929
Well, because she said that's how she sees me.

00:50:59.309 --> 00:51:01.550
That's how she sees me. So she wanted that to

00:51:01.550 --> 00:51:04.630
just be there without saying it out loud. Well,

00:51:04.710 --> 00:51:08.420
honey, you look amazing. You sound amazing. How

00:51:08.420 --> 00:51:10.420
does it feel now that you've been on all the

00:51:10.420 --> 00:51:15.280
big stages to be invited back to the iconic Birdland

00:51:15.280 --> 00:51:18.500
in New York City? First of all, the first time

00:51:18.500 --> 00:51:22.420
I was invited in May of 2022 was just a miracle.

00:51:23.699 --> 00:51:26.260
But there was a friend of mine who was a great

00:51:26.260 --> 00:51:27.840
musician. I can't think of his name right now.

00:51:27.840 --> 00:51:31.239
He's going to kill me. And he, it was a fluke.

00:51:31.320 --> 00:51:34.199
He plays there often. And I got to sing you his

00:51:34.199 --> 00:51:36.699
name because it's driving me crazy. And he plays

00:51:36.699 --> 00:51:38.920
there often and he saw everything that I had

00:51:38.920 --> 00:51:42.119
been doing. He was like, I can't make this show.

00:51:42.440 --> 00:51:44.739
Would you like to play Birdland? I said, oh,

00:51:44.739 --> 00:51:48.840
my goodness. Yes. And he was like, well, will

00:51:48.840 --> 00:51:51.119
you be on tour or you be in New York? I'm like,

00:51:51.159 --> 00:51:53.559
oh, I will get myself to New York. Don't worry

00:51:53.559 --> 00:51:56.380
about that. To play Birdland. That was March.

00:51:56.719 --> 00:52:00.079
Yeah, that was May 2022. And it was the first

00:52:00.079 --> 00:52:03.559
time. And then they loved what I had to offer.

00:52:03.800 --> 00:52:06.750
And they gave me three dates. that November,

00:52:06.769 --> 00:52:09.829
same year. So I performed there November 18,

00:52:09.869 --> 00:52:13.969
19, 20 of 2022. And now they were like, hey,

00:52:14.090 --> 00:52:15.969
it's time to come back to Birdland. I said, thank

00:52:15.969 --> 00:52:18.909
you so much. And I'm on my way. So this August

00:52:18.909 --> 00:52:23.449
21st, I'll be so thrilled to play there. And

00:52:23.449 --> 00:52:27.210
I've been independent. I've been my own manager,

00:52:27.289 --> 00:52:30.989
my own agent, my own label. And when you have

00:52:30.989 --> 00:52:32.849
places like that that reach out and you don't

00:52:32.849 --> 00:52:35.530
have those other things in place, It's really

00:52:35.530 --> 00:52:38.710
a blessing. Well, it's a testament to who you

00:52:38.710 --> 00:52:40.650
are as a person, your integrity, your character.

00:52:40.889 --> 00:52:44.610
People remember, what did Maya Angelou say? People

00:52:44.610 --> 00:52:46.590
might not remember you, but they remember how

00:52:46.590 --> 00:52:49.110
you made them feel. I know I had it wrong. Nobody

00:52:49.110 --> 00:52:55.670
tweet me. But you know what I mean? You make

00:52:55.670 --> 00:52:59.329
few, probably I can imagine just from our interaction.

00:52:59.739 --> 00:53:02.320
you make people feel seen, and people will always

00:53:02.320 --> 00:53:04.659
remember that. And that's what I bring to my

00:53:04.659 --> 00:53:07.599
shows, because although I love having new music,

00:53:08.199 --> 00:53:11.480
I'm the queen of covers. And I say, what do I

00:53:11.480 --> 00:53:14.880
have that's my strength? And that's my personality

00:53:14.880 --> 00:53:18.800
and what I make everybody feel seen. and being

00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:21.639
a part of it. That's my gift. The last time I

00:53:21.639 --> 00:53:23.960
was there, not the first time I was there, somebody

00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:26.719
wrote a review of the show and they started off

00:53:26.719 --> 00:53:29.019
with, not only is she a great singer, but she's

00:53:29.019 --> 00:53:34.500
a great comedian. I want to have everyone be

00:53:34.500 --> 00:53:37.059
engaged and then I'll sing something pretty.

00:53:37.260 --> 00:53:39.019
All right. And then we'll talk some more stuff

00:53:39.019 --> 00:53:41.539
and then I'll sing something else. What's crazy

00:53:41.539 --> 00:53:45.159
is when I'm talking, I am comedic, but when I'm

00:53:45.159 --> 00:53:49.849
singing, I'm very serious. Very serious place

00:53:49.849 --> 00:53:53.070
because I consider myself a storyteller and I

00:53:53.070 --> 00:53:55.409
just want to tell the story where you have your

00:53:55.409 --> 00:53:58.250
own thoughts and you go away into your own space

00:53:58.250 --> 00:54:02.610
in your mind. That's beautiful and it's beautiful

00:54:02.610 --> 00:54:04.469
that that's your intention because you make it

00:54:04.469 --> 00:54:06.849
about the audience and I'm sure they feel it.

00:54:06.869 --> 00:54:10.949
So what is next for you? Well, I'm going to be

00:54:10.949 --> 00:54:14.429
in Detroit in the next week playing at the Detroit

00:54:14.429 --> 00:54:16.969
Jazz Festival, which I'm looking forward to,

00:54:17.570 --> 00:54:19.190
because I'm going to wear them out with all of

00:54:19.190 --> 00:54:22.449
Aretha and Stevie Wonder. Are you playing at

00:54:22.449 --> 00:54:25.449
the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater? No, this is

00:54:25.449 --> 00:54:28.730
a jazz festival outside, the Detroit Jazz Festival.

00:54:28.969 --> 00:54:32.110
That's August 5th. And I'm going to play in New

00:54:32.110 --> 00:54:36.329
York. It's August the 21st. And then I got this

00:54:36.329 --> 00:54:39.250
big, huge jazz festival I'm playing at in December,

00:54:39.750 --> 00:54:42.610
and everybody's there. David Sanborn, Kirk Whale,

00:54:43.329 --> 00:54:46.969
Jeffrey Osborne. That's like in December. And

00:54:46.969 --> 00:54:49.070
it's working on new music and just trying to

00:54:49.070 --> 00:54:52.230
stay busy, you know? And that takes a lot of

00:54:52.230 --> 00:54:56.190
spokes to make my will. So I sing country music.

00:54:56.349 --> 00:54:58.809
Every Monday night I'm in this. a Grammy -winning

00:54:58.809 --> 00:55:02.050
Texas swing band. It's 10 of us. And I'm there

00:55:02.050 --> 00:55:05.769
with three fiddle players. And we've seen traditional

00:55:05.769 --> 00:55:09.150
country music. I'll send you a photo. And I'm

00:55:09.150 --> 00:55:11.909
not a fake country singer. I pay tribute to the

00:55:11.909 --> 00:55:14.489
country songs. And I go as close to country as

00:55:14.489 --> 00:55:18.010
I can without faking it. Okay. So and it makes

00:55:18.010 --> 00:55:20.150
the audience believable for the audience because

00:55:20.150 --> 00:55:22.250
they come there to sing to hear country music.

00:55:22.550 --> 00:55:25.289
So I go from country music to soul on any day

00:55:25.289 --> 00:55:28.150
or jazz. And that's that thing we've been talking

00:55:28.150 --> 00:55:30.909
about how I like being a little bit of a comedian

00:55:30.909 --> 00:55:34.909
and a chameleon. And I like to cross different

00:55:34.909 --> 00:55:41.150
genres because I can. Okay. Get your hand off

00:55:41.150 --> 00:55:47.239
of your hip lady. Well, you know, I used to apologize

00:55:47.239 --> 00:55:52.460
for it. Self -help and self -therapy helps. And

00:55:52.460 --> 00:55:54.320
I've worked through all this stuff in the last

00:55:54.320 --> 00:55:58.340
30 years of who is Wendy Moe? What does she do?

00:55:58.340 --> 00:56:00.099
You know, it takes us a while to get to know

00:56:00.099 --> 00:56:02.539
ourselves. And then once we, if we're fortunate

00:56:02.539 --> 00:56:05.380
to find out before it's too late, then it's a

00:56:05.380 --> 00:56:07.380
beautiful thing. So now that I know who I am,

00:56:07.500 --> 00:56:10.119
I don't have to apologize. And I can just say

00:56:10.119 --> 00:56:13.090
it out loud. Now, just before we go, I just wanted

00:56:13.090 --> 00:56:15.789
to ask you, you've said self -help a couple of

00:56:15.789 --> 00:56:18.690
times, and if you don't mind mentioning a couple

00:56:18.690 --> 00:56:22.050
of techniques or books that you read that can

00:56:22.050 --> 00:56:24.269
help other people who are going through that

00:56:24.269 --> 00:56:26.730
process of trying to discover who they are. I

00:56:26.730 --> 00:56:30.329
don't have any books. All I know is that first

00:56:30.329 --> 00:56:34.269
voice. The second voice we compromise is the

00:56:34.269 --> 00:56:36.550
first one. The first one might not tell you what

00:56:36.550 --> 00:56:39.230
you want to hear, but I don't argue with that

00:56:39.230 --> 00:56:42.519
first voice anymore. I don't try to compromise,

00:56:42.599 --> 00:56:46.179
boys, too. And, you know, what I also realized

00:56:46.179 --> 00:56:49.400
was we got to live this life for ourselves. Literally,

00:56:49.460 --> 00:56:51.800
we've read stuff. People told us you got to love

00:56:51.800 --> 00:56:55.260
yourself first. It's so hard to do. It's so hard

00:56:55.260 --> 00:56:57.280
to do, but you got to do it. Because if you love

00:56:57.280 --> 00:57:00.380
yourself first and you know who you are and you've

00:57:00.380 --> 00:57:04.300
set up boundaries for yourself and for others,

00:57:05.340 --> 00:57:09.019
you will. have a more fulfilled life. I stay

00:57:09.019 --> 00:57:11.579
with the truth every day. I prefer to tell the

00:57:11.579 --> 00:57:14.179
truth. I don't want to lie or embellish. If there's

00:57:14.179 --> 00:57:15.400
something I want to do, I'm just going to say,

00:57:15.460 --> 00:57:16.760
you know what? I'm not going to do that. I'm

00:57:16.760 --> 00:57:18.840
sorry. I'm not the one for it. And it helped

00:57:18.840 --> 00:57:22.000
me. Telling the truth helps so much. Whether

00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:23.699
it comes down to the person you're in a relationship

00:57:23.699 --> 00:57:27.539
with, your job, your family members, whatever

00:57:27.539 --> 00:57:30.739
it is, they know I want to tell the truth. And

00:57:30.739 --> 00:57:33.400
you might not like it, and I might not even want

00:57:33.400 --> 00:57:35.420
to hear it. But if that's the truth, that's what

00:57:35.420 --> 00:57:37.300
I'm going to go with. And ever since I've been

00:57:37.300 --> 00:57:38.960
just sticking up with the truth and saying what

00:57:38.960 --> 00:57:41.019
I mean and meaning what I say, my life has been

00:57:41.019 --> 00:57:44.159
more fulfilled, is less stress, and I sleep at

00:57:44.159 --> 00:57:52.239
night. Amen. Amen to the sleep at night. And

00:57:52.239 --> 00:57:54.380
it's hard. Don't get me wrong. I ain't making

00:57:54.380 --> 00:57:56.059
it seem like, because you wonder, am I making

00:57:56.059 --> 00:57:58.460
this? Is this going to hurt this? Or if I don't

00:57:58.460 --> 00:58:00.159
do right here, is that going to affect that?

00:58:00.780 --> 00:58:04.690
But you know, you got to come down to you. Because

00:58:04.690 --> 00:58:07.590
you cannot help nobody else if you're not whole.

00:58:08.449 --> 00:58:12.969
Your children, your family, your job, your neighbors,

00:58:13.010 --> 00:58:15.750
you can't help nobody if you're not whole. So

00:58:15.750 --> 00:58:18.190
you got to be whole and they need to know that

00:58:18.190 --> 00:58:20.889
what you say is what you mean and that you hear

00:58:20.889 --> 00:58:23.949
that first verb, that first voice. The first

00:58:23.949 --> 00:58:26.789
voice is the answer. I told somebody the other

00:58:26.789 --> 00:58:28.489
day, well, I got a couple of friends, because

00:58:28.489 --> 00:58:30.510
we have to keep each other going when you're

00:58:30.510 --> 00:58:33.550
self -employed. You have highs and lows. On the

00:58:33.550 --> 00:58:35.909
lows, I don't do anything. I stay in bed, I watch

00:58:35.909 --> 00:58:38.510
TV. I don't even try to dream on when it's feeling

00:58:38.510 --> 00:58:40.289
low. And I like I don't get low, but I do get

00:58:40.289 --> 00:58:42.289
low and I get self -doubt. I just stand still,

00:58:42.489 --> 00:58:44.489
piece by piece still. Because when it comes back

00:58:44.489 --> 00:58:47.170
up, that's when I start dreaming, planning, and

00:58:47.170 --> 00:58:50.409
that's just natural. So I got to the same. you

00:58:50.409 --> 00:58:52.789
know, for different friends who, you know, determine

00:58:52.789 --> 00:58:54.769
if they should take a gig or not, or if they

00:58:54.769 --> 00:58:56.889
should have somebody in their life or not. I

00:58:56.889 --> 00:59:00.730
tell them, if you got to ask, that's your answer,

00:59:01.050 --> 00:59:03.389
which means that's no. If you got to be like,

00:59:03.469 --> 00:59:06.650
do I really want to do this gig? That is your

00:59:06.650 --> 00:59:09.989
answer. That means no. Because the stuff that

00:59:09.989 --> 00:59:13.030
we know, that we know that we know, we say yes

00:59:13.030 --> 00:59:16.730
immediately. So if you got a question and you

00:59:16.730 --> 00:59:21.059
got to ask, that is your answer. And that's a

00:59:21.059 --> 00:59:23.880
lot of time, a lot of pressure, a lot of self

00:59:23.880 --> 00:59:26.840
-negotiation. All of that stuff that you go,

00:59:27.239 --> 00:59:29.940
it take you two week, three weeks to get to,

00:59:30.079 --> 00:59:31.840
I always felt that way. I shouldn't have even

00:59:31.840 --> 00:59:35.480
done it. Well, you knew then. If you got to ask

00:59:35.480 --> 00:59:38.619
yourself, then that is your answer. That means

00:59:38.619 --> 00:59:41.079
move on to something else and say no to that.

00:59:41.539 --> 00:59:45.679
She is preaching y 'all and I am sucking all

00:59:45.679 --> 00:59:49.800
of this in. It's true story. I'm living it every

00:59:49.800 --> 00:59:52.920
day, every day. Yes, because you said the things

00:59:52.920 --> 00:59:56.559
that you said yes to in your life when you connect

00:59:56.559 --> 00:59:58.960
the dots were the things that you were supposed

00:59:58.960 --> 01:00:02.619
to say yes to. Yeah. And do you have lived this

01:00:02.619 --> 01:00:04.980
huge life because of just saying yes to that

01:00:04.980 --> 01:00:07.900
first voice? First of all, or listening to the

01:00:07.900 --> 01:00:11.519
first voice says no, or if that first voice makes

01:00:11.519 --> 01:00:14.679
you. If you got a question what the voice said

01:00:14.679 --> 01:00:17.380
because you want to hear something else if you

01:00:17.380 --> 01:00:20.599
gotta ask If that's what you want to do, that's

01:00:20.599 --> 01:00:22.920
your answer. That means no find something else

01:00:22.920 --> 01:00:25.139
That means if you because the stuff that you're

01:00:25.139 --> 01:00:28.300
sure about You just go and do it. You don't ask.

01:00:28.699 --> 01:00:31.460
You know, that's what it is Whether something

01:00:31.460 --> 01:00:32.980
you want to eat whether something you want to

01:00:32.980 --> 01:00:34.880
go if it's a movie you want to watch You know,

01:00:34.920 --> 01:00:36.820
i'm watching that that's what i'm i don't know

01:00:36.820 --> 01:00:38.699
what i'm doing But i'm watching it and i'm gonna

01:00:38.699 --> 01:00:40.820
videotape because that's something you are sure

01:00:40.820 --> 01:00:43.289
about you know That's what you got to do when

01:00:43.289 --> 01:00:46.130
you live your life. And if you got to ask it,

01:00:46.449 --> 01:00:49.550
then that's your answer. That means no. Well,

01:00:49.650 --> 01:00:52.409
Ms. Wendy, you just wrote your next song. OK,

01:00:52.530 --> 01:00:54.510
good. What is it? What's the title? If you got

01:00:54.510 --> 01:01:01.849
to ask, it's a no. OK. You're welcome. Thank

01:01:01.849 --> 01:01:03.449
you. I love that. I'll be thinking about you

01:01:03.449 --> 01:01:06.679
tomorrow. Thinking about you. I have to tell

01:01:06.679 --> 01:01:08.699
you, this has been, I told you from the, this

01:01:08.699 --> 01:01:12.139
was going to be a hot fire conversation. I love

01:01:12.139 --> 01:01:15.019
every second of it, but I know you're recording

01:01:15.019 --> 01:01:17.440
and you're doing your thing and I want to honor

01:01:17.440 --> 01:01:19.760
your time, but I have one last question and I

01:01:19.760 --> 01:01:22.159
think we have the answer to this. What is your

01:01:22.159 --> 01:01:25.280
black girl magic superpower? Being comfortable

01:01:25.280 --> 01:01:29.119
in my own skin. I know that's right. All the

01:01:29.119 --> 01:01:32.159
time. I know that's right. That's mine. That's

01:01:32.159 --> 01:01:34.360
it. because if we can do that, we already got

01:01:34.360 --> 01:01:36.739
the darts coming at us everywhere all the time.

01:01:37.699 --> 01:01:39.619
The bullets ain't never stopping, the darts,

01:01:39.780 --> 01:01:42.119
the all that. So it's like, you know, my superhero,

01:01:42.300 --> 01:01:45.099
I thank God I had a great mom. She was the quietest

01:01:45.099 --> 01:01:47.179
one in our family, but she was the strongest

01:01:47.179 --> 01:01:51.440
one. And hey, as long as I put on my armor, I

01:01:51.440 --> 01:01:54.119
can go on and my arm is me knowing me. Amen.

01:01:56.079 --> 01:01:59.360
How can people reach you and hear more of your

01:01:59.360 --> 01:02:02.690
music and follow your career? Please add me to

01:02:02.690 --> 01:02:06.989
your list, what they call them now, these Spotify's

01:02:06.989 --> 01:02:10.949
and these playlists. Please add me there, Wendy

01:02:10.949 --> 01:02:15.369
Moulton, W -E -N -D -Y -M -O -T -E -N. I'm on

01:02:15.369 --> 01:02:18.670
Instagram, on all the social platforms. But I

01:02:18.670 --> 01:02:21.070
got to ask for you to add me on your playlist

01:02:21.070 --> 01:02:24.530
because that's the new thing now. And let us

01:02:24.530 --> 01:02:26.309
know you've heard us and what you thought about

01:02:26.309 --> 01:02:29.389
this interview. I want to know. Yes, ma 'am.

01:02:29.980 --> 01:02:31.900
Well, like I said, this has been delightful,

01:02:32.300 --> 01:02:35.559
insightful. I feel like I just finished church.

01:02:37.519 --> 01:02:39.519
I'm going to pull out the tambourine and do the

01:02:39.519 --> 01:02:42.920
Holy Ghost dance. And I just want you to know

01:02:42.920 --> 01:02:45.920
that you are welcome any time to say whatever

01:02:45.920 --> 01:02:48.059
you need to say. Thank you so much for having

01:02:48.059 --> 01:02:51.440
me. And I know that, you know, for women like

01:02:51.440 --> 01:02:55.119
you, like me, yes, people need to hear us, but

01:02:55.119 --> 01:03:00.119
not don't necessarily know it. Because the ones

01:03:00.119 --> 01:03:01.920
who want to hear us are the ones who need to

01:03:01.920 --> 01:03:05.280
hear us. Are going to hear us. Amen. Maybe one,

01:03:05.380 --> 01:03:08.679
it may be many. We don't know. Well, thank you

01:03:08.679 --> 01:03:11.099
again. I really appreciate you being here and

01:03:11.099 --> 01:03:13.960
thank you for sharing all of your stories and

01:03:13.960 --> 01:03:18.019
God bless you on every step that you make from

01:03:18.019 --> 01:03:20.679
here into eternity. And thank you for coming

01:03:20.679 --> 01:03:23.460
on the Black Women Amplified podcast. Thank you

01:03:23.460 --> 01:03:25.519
for having your podcast and thank you for inviting

01:03:25.519 --> 01:03:28.710
me and God bless you too. Take care, bye bye.

01:03:29.889 --> 01:03:32.269
Thank you for listening to Black Women Amplified.

01:03:32.570 --> 01:03:35.309
We hope you enjoyed the show. Be sure to subscribe

01:03:35.309 --> 01:03:38.710
and log on to blackwomenamplified .com for more

01:03:38.710 --> 01:03:40.750
information. Keep shining.