SECTION D

April 14-20, 2010

Reflections

By Steve Holsey

What a true diva is

There was a time when the word “diva,”

aside from its operatic origin, was used to designate ladies of song whose achievements were monumental and enduring.

But eventually the term got diluted and

began being applied to any songstress who was popular at the moment. It was, in fact, being tossed around so casually that Gladys Knight, one of the real divas, said she no longer wanted to be identified as such.

The true (Af-

Diana Ross

Almost, but not

quite, are Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan and maybe Roberta Flack, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Beyoncé seems to be a sure bet for the future.

The first six ladies

— Ross, Franklin, Turner, Warwick, LaBelle and Knight — established themselves in the 1960s and have remained massively popular ever since. It would take reams of paper to document their individual achievements.

Aretha Franklin

“Divadom” is a special place, reserved for a select few.

GOOD NEWS for Monica. Her new album, “Still Standing,” had a hugely successful debut on the national charts, surpass- ing all of the competition to secure the No. 2 position on the Top 200 Pop Albums chart.

Monica, who

Monica

will be 30 in October, has developed into a strong singer and blossomed

into an exceptionally beautiful woman. She was vocally and visually breathtaking on Jay Leno’s show last week.

I got a kick out of the multitalented Nick

Cannon (actor, rapper, TV host, comedian) describing himself as an “entrepretainer,” blending “entrepreneur” and “entertainer.” It proves that he has a firm grip on the fact that it is show business.

Veteran guitarist Dennis Coffey, who

played on so many hits for Motown (among other companies) and scored a Top 10 hit of his own (“Scor- pio”), confirmed one reason why so many record- ing artists (young and otherwise) get in so much trouble. They sign contracts without reading carefully and/or without having legal repre- sentation.

In his very inter-

esting autobiogra- phy, “Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars,” Coffey revealed that contracts can be up to 50 pages long.

Dennis Coffey

Nelly (Cornell Haynes Jr.)

ERYKAH BADU, described by one jour-

nalist as “R&B’s hippie high priestess,” is not one to criticize those who adhere to the tenets of organized religion. However, she says, “Art is my religion.”

Another thing that sets her apart from

other artists is that she is in full control of every aspect of her career, including songs, videos, marketing, attire, packaging, booking, liner notes, etc. Well, that’s one way to make sure things are done to your liking.

It is strange the way hospitals advertise

these days. What next? Specials? “Have one surgery, get a second one free?” “Ten for 10” sales on prescriptions? Visit a doctor and “pay nothing for three years”?

Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” tour begins

July 2 in Seattle and concludes Aug. 25 in Chicago. Yes, Detroit is in the schedule — Aug. 22 at the DTE Energy Theatre. Mean- while, her “Rated R” album continues to be a giant seller.

Whitney Houston is still having issues,

See Reflections Page D-2

Ne-Yo (Shaffer Smith) Ice-T (Tracy Morrow) Nina Simone (Eunice Waymon) Mos Def (Dante Smith)

Snoop Dogg (Cordozar Broadus)

rican-American) divas are Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Patti

LaBelle and Gladys Knight. I call them the superdivas.

By Steve Holsey

M

Chaka Khan (Yvette Stevens)

elinda Doolittle, exceptionally talented season six “American Idol” finalist whose book, “Beyond Me: Finding Your Way to Life’s Next Level,” will be released next month, says she loves to laugh. But quickly adds with a smile that with a surname like “Doolittle,” you learn to laugh early on.

Of course, most names of celebrities from the music world

are not humorous, but so many of them are surprising. In some cases, it could even be speculated that had a stage name not been chosen, certain artists are likely to have not found success in show business.

Would Tina Turner be a rock legend had she entered the music

business as Anna Mae Bullock? Would hard-core rapper Ice-T be fully “street credible” as Tracy Morrow? Similar reality for Snoop Dogg as Cordozar Broadus. And Elgin Lumpkin sounds less com- pelling than Ginuwine.

Legendary “American Bandstand” host Dick Clark may not

have wanted the general public to be aware of the fact that his middle name is Wagstaff.

Innovative rap star Afrika Bambaataa (“Planet Rock”) gave him-

self that exotic, Afrocentric moniker, but his name is actually Kevin Donovan.

Chaka Khan is another one who went the Afrocentric, exotic route. She was born Yvette Marie Stevens. Her sister Yvonne, who at one time sang with the Undis- puted Truth, decided to call herself “Taka Boom.”

Here’s a very strange

one. On the late, leg- endary, flamboyant Lib- erace’s birth certificate it says “Wladziu Valentino Liberace.”

HANK BALLARD, who

had a lot of hits in the 1950s and 1960s, includ- ing the original version of “The Twist” and the then- scandalous “Work With Me Annie,” has a name that is not startling, just so much different than the name he became famous with. John Henry Kendricks is his name.

Did you know that

Grace Jones’ real name is Grace Mendoza?

When Dionne War- wick’s first single, “Don’t

Make Me Over,” was released in early 1963, it proved to be a big national hit. However, there was a mistake on the record label. Her last name is actually “Warrick.” But she felt that it would be too much trouble, and mildly confusing to the public, to make the switch for the next single, “This Empty Place.” So the decision was made to let it stay Warwick.

There was actually an “s” on the legendary Nat “King” Cole’s

last name. He was born Nathaniel Adams Coles. Everyone is very happy for the major success that has final-

ly come for Detroit’s own Bettye LaVette. Talk about hanging in there through the toughest of times! Early on, Betty Haskins felt that “LaVette” had a more “show bizzy” sound to it. Along her journey, including a long stint in the stage musical “Bubbling Brown Sugar,” she decided to add an “e” to “Betty.”

The impact of the great Billie Holiday (an icon) could never be overstated, and her impact is still felt today. She was originally

Seal (Henry Samuel)

Eleanora Fagan. “Billie” was adapted from the stage name of film actress Billie Dove who was popular in the 1920s. “Holiday,” ap- parently, just sounded good.

REMEMBER Clay Aiken, the season two runner-up on “Ameri-

can Idol”? His name is Clayton Grissom. It is possible that Motown would not have recorded Kim Weston

as Agatha Weston. Similarly, the lyrical “Nina Simone” has a better sound to it than Eunice Waymon.

Ne-Yo’s name is Shaffer Smith. A lot of frustrated workers related to country singer Johnny

Paycheck’s amusing-yet-serious 1977 hit “Take This Job and Shove It.” Most of them didn’t know that his real name was Donald Lytle.

David Ruffin’s first name was actually Davis. It’s a good thing rap star Kool Moe Dee chose that name be-

cause so many people would have been pronouncing his real name incorrectly: Mohandas Dewese.

John Legend may become a legend one day, but his name is

really John Stephens. Nelly, another rap star, made a name for himself with hits like

“Hot In Herre” (that’s how he spelled it) and “Dilemma” (featuring Kelly Rowland). As far as we know, there is no particular reason why he chose Nelly, but his real name is Cornell Haynes Jr.

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere.

See Name game Page D-2

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