The Victor Brooks Show

I am honored to include this episode of the Incredibly talented Shirley Jones Of The Jones Girls. Shirley shares her journey that was shared by her equally talented sisters, collectively known as The Jones Girls.

For during a half decade between 1979 and 1984, Shirley, Valorie and Brenda Jones created some of the most glorious Soul music around.

Born and raised in Detroit in a gospel singing family, the Jones Girls spent the better part of the 60s and 70s as sought-after backing vocalists, first regionally and then on a national basis. Their attempts to break through as a singing group on a number of smaller labels (including a brief stint at Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label) failed, and they seemed destined to spend their careers harmonizing behind bigger artists. However, while serving as Diana Ross's backing group during a mid-70s tour, the girls were "discovered" by Kenny Gamble and were signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records. They came out smoking on PIR with their eponymous debut album and the infectious dance single "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else," which stormed the pop, soul and dance charts. They followed with the beautiful ballad, "We're A Melody," a prototypical Philly song with sophisticated arrangements wrapped around their wonderful harmonies. Both drop dead gorgeous and talented, the Jones Girls were individually accomplished singers; but together, their voices were absolutely heavenly. And at PIR they found the perfect match in the melodic writing and lush production that Gamble & Huff and Dexter Wansel/Cynthia Biggs provided them. Their second and third PIR albums were gems. At Peace With Woman and Get As Much Love As You Can featured a number of now classic cuts, including the club favorite "Nights Over Egypt," the sassy "I Just Love the Man" and a timeless cover of the Stylistics' "Children of the Night." In what would prove a career mistake, the Jones Girls left Philadelphia International for RCA Records in 1984, and couldn't recapture the magic. They retired the group in 1985 and lead singer Shirley Jones went solo, returning to PIR in 1986 for Always In The Mood and its #1 hit, "Do You Get Enough Love." She continued to record sporadically over the next decade, and the group reunited from time to time for special concerts and issued a 1992 reunion album, Coming Back, in Europe.

The sisters spent much of the next decade raising their children, occasionally reuniting for shows (particularly in Europe) and providing guest vocal help to other artists. They released Best of the Jones Girls in 2000, a great sampler of their work on PIR and an essential purchase for lovers of sophisticated, well orchestrated soul music. Sadly, sister Valorie died the next year.

Currently, Brenda Jones lives in Atlanta and sings frequently with her four-piece band, performing both Jazz and R&B numbers, including several Jones Girls tunes.

I am so pleased to include this incredible episode, with the legendary Freda Payne. Freda shares her memories of growing up in Detroit and starting her iconic journey through the entertainment industry.

Singer and actress Freda Charcelia Payne was born September 19, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan, to Frederick and Charsilee Payne. Payne attended Palmer Elementary School and Crossman Elementary School; she also modeled and took ballet and Afro-Cuban dance. In 1956, while at Hutchins Middle School, Payne appeared on the nationally televised Ted Mack’s The Original Amateur Hour; singing jingles, she was featured on WJR radio’s Make Way for Youth, in addition to many other local television and radio shows. Payne’s mother spurned a contract from the then unknown Barry Gordy. When she graduated from Central High School in 1959, Payne began touring with Pearl Bailey’s musical review and sang with the Duke Ellington Band. Payne’s first album was After the Lights Go Down for ABC’s Impulse Records in 1962.

Moving to New York City in 1963, Payne made appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show and The Dick Cavette Show. In 1964, Payne joined the Four Tops, Billy Eckstine, and Nipsey Russell on the Quincy Jones Tour. Payne was understudy for Leslie Uggams in Broadway’s Hallelujah Baby! in 1967; she also performed in the Equity Theatre production of Lost in the Stars. Stardom for Payne began when she signed with Invictus Records, a label run by her old Detroit friends Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., and Lamont Dozier (formerly of Motown) in 1969. Payne’s smash single Band of Gold, released in 1970, was ranked #1 in the United Kingdom and #3 in the United States; it was her first gold record. Payne’s other hits included Deeper and Deeper, You Brought Me Joy, and the anti-war, Bring the Boys Home.

As her star kept rising, Payne began appearing in television specials and touring the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Although she left Invictus in 1973, date Payne continued recording, pressing twenty-one albums, including several remakes of Band of Gold. In 1974, Payne made the cover of Jet magazine after she was dubbed a Dame of Malta, by the Knights of Malta and the Sovereign Military, and Hospital Order of St. John of Jerusalem by the Prince of Rumania. Payne hosted Today’s Black Woman, a talk show, in 1980 and 1981, before joining the cast of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies in 1982. Payne also starred in productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’ with Della Reese, The Blues in the Night, Jellies Last Jam with Gregory Hines and Savion Glover in the 1990s. Payne’s film appearances include: Private Obsession in 1995; Sprung in 1997; Ragdoll in 1999; The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps in 2000; and Fire and Ice in 2001.

Returning to her jazz roots, Payne later toured with Darlene Love in a critically acclaimed revue entitled Love and Payne.

I am extremely excited to welcome the incredible Singer/Songwriter/ Arranger and co-creator of the legendary vocal group Take 6.

Mark Kibble is the first tenor for the singing group Take 6, which he formed along with Claude McKnight, in 1980. Mark has played an important role in the development of the group’s sound not only as a vocalist but as an arranger. During their career the group has sold millions of recordings and has won countless awards including ten Grammy Awards.

I am very proud to welcome the Multi-Talented Miki Howard. Her Journey is incredible and her wisdom is sure to inspire all of us.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard was the daughter of two well-known gospel singers. Her father, Clay Graham, sang with the Pilgrim Jubiliees and her mother, Josephine Howard, was a member of the Caravans, a group that would eventually be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

When Howard was in her early teens, her mother moved the family to Los Angeles. Already aiming at a career in music, the 15-year-old Howard received her first break when she participated in a teen beauty contest. Augie Johnson, leader of the group Side Effect, happened to be in the audience; impressed with Howard's singing talent, Howard also joined the lineup of Side Effect in 1978 when another singer departed. She sang with Side Effect until 1982.

Howard signed a contract with Atlantic Records in the mid-1980s and recorded her first solo album, “Come Share My Love”, in 1986. The title track from the album was its first single, hitting the top ten of the R&B charts and reaching number five in late 1986. A remake of the pop standard "Imagination," which Howard had fought to include on “Come Share My Love”, was another hit from the album.

Howard's second solo album, 1988's “Love Confessions”, offered another top-five R&B hit with "Baby Be Mine." "That's What Love Is," a duet with Gerald Levert, also hit the R&B charts. In the meantime, Howard's third solo album,” Miki Howard”, was released in 1989 and proved her most commercially successful to date. The single "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" became Howard's first number-one hit on the R&B charts and another song, "Love Under New Management," followed it to number two and became one of Howard's signature tunes.

Howard continued with a successful solo career after switching to Giant Records in 1991. Her first single under her new contract, "Ain't Nobody like You," became Howard's second number-one R&B hit. The subsequent album, 1992's “Femme Fatale”, featured Howard's renditions of classic tracks originally performed by Dinah Washington ("This Bitter Earth") and Billie Holiday ("Good Morning Heartache").

After a casting director saw her perform some Billie Holiday tunes at a New York City concert at Radio City Music Hall, Howard was offered the chance to portray Holiday in a nightclub scene in director Spike Lee's 1992 film “Malcolm X”. The following year, Howard recorded an entire album of Holiday songs, “Miki Sings Billie”, including her favorite Holiday tune, "Don't Explain." In 1993, Howard made another movie appearance in director John Singleton's “Poetic Justice”.

She released “Live Plus” in 1996 and a comeback album of original material, “Can't Count Me Out”, in 1997. After a four year hiatus, “Three Wishes”, was released in 2001 to excellent reviews. The album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional R&B Recording.

She followed that with “Pillow Talk” (2006), “Private Collection” (2008), “I Choose To Be Happy” (2015) and a live recording “Miki Howard- Live In Concert” in 2015.

Howard was featured on the second season on TV One’s critically acclaimed bio-series “Unsung”. Miki’s episode was the highest rated of her season and in 2015 was adapted into a TV movie for TV One to be released in June of 2016 with “Chi-Raq” actress Teyonah Parris in the lead role.

Victor proudly welcomes one of his favorite people, the incredibly multi-talented Wyann Vaughn.

Wyann Vaughn comes from soul music royalty. Daughter of Grammy award winning Wanda Vaughn of the sister group "The Emotions" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Let's Groove" writer Wayne Vaughn, Wyann mixes timeless R&B vocals with a funky edge. At eight years old, her brother introduced her to rap music and she hasn’t looked back since. From studios to stages, working with everyone from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar to The Temptations, Heatwave, The Stylistics and more; Wyann Vaughn possesses vast experience as both a recording and a performing artist by blending hip hop styling with crafty singing and songwriting.

As a self-proclaimed "edutainer", Vaughn also struts her stuff with scholarly confidence as she holds her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and teaches as well as academically counsels at Pasadena City College's Ujima Program. Outside of carrying on the family legacy by touring with her mother and aunt as the third member of The Emotions, Wyann belongs to the supergroup The Pollyseeds under the direction of Terrace Martin. Vaughn was also hand selected by The Good Doc himself to cohost "The Pharmacy with Dr. Dre" on Apple Music's Beats1 radio alongside west coast hip hop giants like Xzibit, DJ Pooh and others. Vaughn also launched "Raise It Up, Wy! the podcast" where she kicks "OG game to real ones only" by raising listeners' awareness, vibrations, and capacities for love.

Wyann arguably expresses herself most vividly through poetry. Vaughn developed her love for poetry at 16 years old. Studying Maya Angelou for an eleventh grade AP English course, Wyann presented original poetry alongside Angelou's.The response from her instructor was so overwhelmingly positive and encouraging that Vaughn felt motivated to continue writing and reciting her poetry. In 2008, she self-published her debut poetry book, entitled 13, and gifted her eleventh grade English instructor the first publicly available copy.

Wyann Vaughn's future works, which include more poetry books and even a debut album, promise to capture hearts and touch souls everywhere.

Victor is truly honored to welcome a HIP HOP OG, ICON and Pioneer, OG KID FROST

Arturo Molina, Jr. (born 31 May 1964), better known by his stage name Frost, is an American rapper and actor from Windsor, California. He began his music career in 1982 under the stage name Kid Frost as a tribute to his rival Ice-T, whom he often battled in the music industry. He signed to Virgin Records in the late 1980s, on which he released his biggest hit "La Raza" in 1990. He released his debut album, Hispanic Causing Panic, that same year. Frost created the group Latin Alliance the following year, which released a self-titled album in 1991. His second album, East Side Story, was released in 1992.

In 1995, Frost dropped the "Kid" from his stage name and signed with Ruthless Records. His third album, Smile Now, Die Later was released that same year, and his fourth album, When Hell.A. Freezes Over, was released in 1997. He has since released several albums on several independent labels.

Frost is also an accomplished actor and has appeared in several films. He supplied the voice for T-Bone Mendez in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in addition to contributing his song "La Raza" to the game's soundtrack. His son, Elijah Molina, is a producer under the name Scoop DeVille.

Victor is incredibly honored to welcome a true entertainment legend, on so many levels. Mr. Bill Duke.

Dating back to the 1970s, Bill Duke has appeared in a number of popular films, including Car Wash, American Gigolo, Commando, Predator, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Fewer still might be aware of Duke’s extraordinary accomplishments off-screen—as a talented director, producer, entrepreneur, and humanitarian.

Bill Duke: My 40-Year Career on Screen and behind the Camera is the memoir of a Hollywood original. In an industry that rarely embraces artists of color, Duke first achieved success as an actor then turned to directing. After helming episodes of ratings giants Dallas, Falcon Crest, Hill Street Blues, and Miami Vice, Duke progressed to feature films like A Rage in Harlem, Deep Cover, Hoodlum, and Sister Act 2. In this candid autobiography, Duke recalls the loving but stern presence of his mother and father, acting mentors like Olympia Dukakis, and the pitfalls that nearly derailed his career, notably an addiction to drugs. Along the way, readers will encounter familiar names like Danny Glover, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Whoopi Goldberg.

From his Broadway debut in 1971 to the establishment of the Duke Media Foundation, which trains and mentors young filmmakers, Duke has been breaking the rules of what it means to triumph in the entertainment industry. Recalling pivotal moments in his life, Bill Duke: My 40-Year Career on Screen and behind the Camera is the story only Bill Duke could tell.

Victor is so very proud and honored to welcome, Entertainment Icon and Trailblazer Melba Moore.

American Rhythm & Blues singer and actress Melba Moore (b. New York, NY, 29 October 1945) is a four-time Grammy® nominee and the winner of the 1970 Tony Award® for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, for her performance as Lutiebelle in Purlie. With a total of eleven top ten U.S. hits on the Billboard charts over the past 40 years, both singles and albums, Melba Moore continues into the 21st century as one of pop music’s most enduring artists.

Victor is so very proud to welcome, a true music legend and pioneer. The ever so talented singer, songwriter and performer Jeanette Hawes of THE EMOTIONS.

Grammy Award and American Music Awards winner, Jeanette Marie Hawes is one of the original members of the world-renowned Emotions singing group. She began singing with her two sisters as the Hutchinson Sunbeams at a very early age. The Emotions are recognized as one of the premier singing groups in American history, with numerous awards worldwide. Jeanette is also a songwriter, actor, and author. She is the mother of three children.

Carolyn Griffey is an American female soul vocalist, and member of the soul funk group Shalamar. She is the daughter of Carrie Lucas and Solar Records boss Dick Griffey, who worked with Don Cornelius in the television program, Soul Train.Griffey grew up around The Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star, Dynasty, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and James Brown, who all appeared on Soul Train or who were signed to Solar Records. In 1990 she was signed to Sony Records as part of the dance-pop duo called 'Absolute'. This group released one album, For All Seasons, in 1990. Their singles included "Cheap Shot" and "Gotta Lambada" and "This Moment In Time" both (from the movie soundtrack of Lambada.)She has been the lead female vocalist of Shalamar since 2001. She appeared on ITV’s Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005, and has been touring the world with the Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel.

She also sang with the Andraé Crouch Gospel Choir, who are known for their work on Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", "Keep the Faith" and "Will You Be There".Griffey currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee.In October 2009, Griffey performed with Hewett and Daniel in Shalamar at London's O2 Arena. This prompted a return for a tour in the UK in April 2010. They have been an annual feature at London's O2 Arena every December since 2010. In 2014 Griffey appeared with Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel for two Shalamar concerts at the Manchester Ritz and London O2.