Nov. 6, 2006

Love Overboard

R&B veteran Gladys Knight has always been like an aunt in my head. She's always ranked high on my 'People I Have to Interview' list! I pledged my commitment to interview the R&B icon months before her latest release, 'Before Me,' was set to bow on the jazz label Verve Records. So when the morning of our interview arrived, I was honestly excited, which is a rare emotion for me at this stage in my career.

It was 15 minutes past the original interview time, and I was waiting for the phone to ring. It finally did and her independent publicist-think Al Pacino in 'People I Know'-tells me that she's running "a little behind." About 55 minutes later, he tells me that my 45-minute interview could only last 15 minutes. "Only 15 minutes?" I shot back? Where was the "respect?" Wait a minute; it was Aretha Franklin who sang that song. "Whatever I got to do to make it work I will," I offered. I mean, this was Aunt Gladys Knight I was talking about.

Five minutes later the caller ID said "Trump International Hotel" again, and I sat with my recorder running. The publicist placed me on hold; well, at least he thought he did. He hung up inadvertently and then called back to tell me: "Ms. Knight has just jumped on a call, and I'll ring you as soon as she's done." (During the interview she told me that it was Dionne Warwick who phoned, and I wondered why the former Psychic Friend didn't get a premonition that Knight was about to do an interview with me, but I digress.)

A few minutes later the phone rang again, and I finally got my one-on-one with the legendary "Midnight Train to Georgia" singer.

"Your rep said I only have 15 minutes and that means I got to get all of my good questions in so I won't waste any of my time gushing like I planned to," I began.

"Go 'head on," Knight said, cracking up!

The following 14 minutes and 54 seconds-that's right, used every bit of abbreviated time-made the frustration I had with the 75 minutes leading up to it, seem worth it all.

Why she decided to do a record of standards for 'Before Me': I had to do it. It was a big part of my life. You don't hear about my years when I was in high school, but this was the music that took me through high school. I have been trying to get this album done for a long, long time. For the last six years. Here we are finally. It's a part of our history, and it's a part of knowing what it was before us and how the doors got open to do what we do now. If it was not for these great ladies and great men in this industry that did a genre of music that was so old and that came from so far back…what they took to be part of the entertainment world at that time opened the door for possibly hip-hop. We have to remember and know about these things. Unless we do it and pass it on, it gets lost. Too much of our history gets lost.

On being named a legend at Oprah Winfrey's Legend's Ball: I was shocked! I can tell you this from my heart and every other woman that was there. It was like we were transformed at that time. There was something more God-like than you would know in that particular event. To the point that I don't think Oprah herself knew the measure of it. She was just the thing where the seed was planted. She was obedient in following that spiritual movement to do this. But the outcome and the impact of it was so amazing and is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. There were no egos. No this, no that. Everyone was humbled to the point of just, 'Wow!' And loving each other to the point where we could just co-mingle for a change; unlike we would even if we were to work together or on a stage together or something like that. This was something totally different. The fact that I was invited, I was totally shocked! It leaves you speechless. By the end of that weekend, people were so tired-especially me-because the spirit when you really experience it is so heavy!

On the death of Ron Winans: We miss him so much. We really, really do! He was my partner in the restaurant business, that my son and I have [Gladys Knight & Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles]. It was really Shanga's business, and he brought me and Ron into it, is really how it goes. Uncle Ron, as he says. He had such a wonderful, sweet and loving heart. It was just weak, physically weak. He didn't get a chance to make it any further with us. But we know the Lord in his almighty grace and wisdom that He has, He had other things for Ron to do and we have to be accepting of His plan. Because it's not our plan. We give him up to the Lord and know that we will see him again.

On BET's Lifetime Achievement Award Honor: I enjoyed that night immensely. I was so grateful to the ladies [Toni Braxton and Faith Evans] that gave me that musical honor.

On the comeback of Whitney Houston: I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. Her cousin [Dionne Warwick] and I are very good friends, more like sisters. Matter of fact, I just got through talking to her. I just hung up the phone. I've known Whitney's history all along and have had the blessing and opportunity to talk with her at different times. I have just been really praying just as other people have. When He gives you gifts like that, you have to embrace it. If you do not, He will remove it from you. And until you turn to Him again and allow Him to have his way, can He give it back to you. I am so happy about that. I am still pulling for her, because she is not out of the woods yet, but the fact that she has turned around and is facing Him and allowing herself to use this gift that He has given her is just so, so, so amazing. There is only one Whitney! I don't care who comes to do what, she and she alone was given that gift!

Believe it or not, there's more to my chat with Knight. I'll be filing a special "BV Buzz" from Las Vegas in the coming weeks, and you can check for more of my candid interview with the former Flamingo Hotel headliner then.

Model Behavior

Actress/TV host Claudia Jordan, who is currently a briefcase model on NBC's hit game show 'Deal or No Deal,' believes that there is a double standard when it comes to comparing sexy black talent like Traci Bingham to white starlets such as Carmen Electra.

"It's such a double standard and the unfortunate part about it is that we, as black people, are doing it ourselves. That's what frustrates me because I get a lot of emails from girls that want to start off and I can't tell them to just show up for an audition for this movie. Sometimes in black Hollywood it seems that you got to get a little buzz on the more urban level and wait until you get a little visible and then you get a shot. The same folks have to work a long time in black Hollywood before they start getting considered for the bigger parts so the videos are easier to get in the beginning. I think years ago, videos were a lot nicer, a lot fairer toward women," she told yours truly in a cover story for SMOOTH magazine, on newsstands now.

Jordan, also a correspondent for Fox Sports' 'Best Damn Sports Show Period,' was a former Barker's Beauty model on 'The Price is Right' who sued the long running game show over allegations of wrongful termination, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The lawsuit was settled.

"I don't know how much I can talk about though, because I did have a lawsuit," she confessed. "Yeah, we did settle it, but I was right. I don't know what you can say about that. I can say that Bob Barker never touched me or was inappropriate with me sexually or anything like that. But I had to get out of there! I had to go! I used to be in the parking lot crying. It was tough. I had to smile on camera and be all happy, but I was really, really sad."

Barker, the 82-year-old show host, announced that he will retire in June 2007.

Buzzworthy

Word has it that 'American Idol' winner Fantasia has signed on to go out on a national tour with Jamie Foxx early next year. They may hit the road as early as February, according to a source. The R&B powerhouse, who starred in her own Lifetime movie 'Life Is Not a Fairy Tale,' will drop her sophomore CD on Dec. 12. The first single "Hood Boyz" is already impacting at radio.

Speaking of Fantasia, she is featured on The Clark Sisters remake "Endow Me" on SWV singer Coko's debut gospel album, 'Grateful.' The song also features guest turns by R&B stars Faith Evans and Lil' Mo. During an appearance last week on Cheryl Jackson's midday show on Heaven 1580 AM in Washington, D.C., Coko received a surprise call from Twinkie Clark of The Clark Sisters, who called in on three-way with gospel artist John Hart. "I hope you're being blessed by singing it. I hope to catch you all out here sometime if you're in my area. I hope to be one of your guests," Clark said via telephone.

Actress Vanessa Bell Calloway will be featured as a part of the forthcoming TV One reality series 'Famous People.' Calloway's show is a dinner party, where she prepares and hosts her celebrity friends for an intimate fine-dining experience at her home. The actress ('Biker Boyz'/'Coming To America') and TV host ('Oh Drama') plays host to actress Lela Rochon-Fuqua ('Waiting To Exhale'), James Pickens Jr. ('Grey's Anatomy'), Kym E. Whitley('Next Friday'), comedian Sinbad and married singing duo Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore. "I'd like to make the show an ongoing series of specials," the actress told me.

Congratulations to Hollywood couple Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker. The pair welcomed their new son Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe into the world on Halloween. The family now resides in Atlanta because, as Kodjoe told me backstage at the play 'Mama's Sweet Potato Pie,' he didn't want to raise his kids in Los Angeles. The Kodjoes also have a 19-month-old daughter named Sophie Tei-Naaki Lee. Kodjoe told me that his wife wanted to have their children back to back so that she could get back to work.

Looks like New York City's 24-hour gospel station WLIB 1190 AM is bringing on the bigwigs when the station transitions from just playing music to introducing its on-air talent. I hear Donnie McClurkin has been tapped to helm the morning show, with Yolanda Adams tackling mid-days and Hezekiah Walker holding down the afternoon drive.

The 'BET Hip-Hop Awards' in Atlanta on Nov. 15 will be the last major task for Michael Lewellen, BET's Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, who is vacating the cable network for an undisclosed new venture. Lewellen was a favorite among most journalists, including this very columnist, because unlike many public relations professionals, he was straightforward, honest and quick to respond!

Can't Say Names…

It's not just hard out here for a pimp, but it's apparently hard out here for neo-soul singers too. Sources tell us a certain cosmic crooner turned some fans off by attempting to charge them $10 to take a photo after a recent concert performance. "I guess when you ain't selling records, you got to sell whatever you can," laughed our tipster. The fan passed on paying for the pic and plans to illegally download his next album.