By Curtis Everette Gatewood
As we enter Black History Month, it may be worth mentioning how I’ve been recently studying the legacies of many of the nation’s greatest Black entertainers – from Billie Holiday to Whitney Houston; from Dorothy Dandrige to Florence Ballard; from Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers to David Ruffin and the Temptations (including Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Dennis Edwards); from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye; from Rick James to Michael Jackson; from Little Richard to Prince, and the list goes on, on, and on, regarding how many were ultimately overly drugged and underpaid. In fact many of these extremely talented artists went from rags to riches, back to rags, prior to early death.
They lived fast and died just as fast. They left an indelible mark of greatness on the music industry although their seemingly glamorous lives were often realistically plagued by a “living hell.”
Their glittering golden images of fame and fortune were often nothing more than bait used by unscrupulous “management” predators who worked behind the scenes. The artists were often poor, young, musically gifted, black, and the prime targets of a ruthless and deadly industry who sinfully used, abused, and robbed the talented entertainer’s gullible desire to be accepted, heard on radio, and in other ways have their talents emerge beneath the colored lights upon the big stage of cheering audiences.
Their stories are like horror movies that are replayed over and over again from generation to generation. In most instances their unbelievable “dreams” became a rollercoaster with its fast ride with such high ups it seemed destined toward a heavenly ecstasy, but suddenly came the deep lows that seemed destined toward hell as the “dream” then crashes and leaves the artists in the drug-infested cemetery of a nightmare where the remains of great artists before them are buried.
What I don’t understand is why aren’t we learning from the same mistakes? Most of these artists’ talents were born in poverty, upon humble beginnings, but groomed and bloomed in the local church from the seed of spiritual wealth.
Somehow we must learn that if it was “faith that brought us this far” to the utmost pinnacle of success, we must not allow the hellhounds of glitter (whether the glitter comes with or without the “gold”) drug addiction, alcoholism, the vulnerability of sexuality, and allow other excessive acts of evil to take over and drive us farther away from God and his blessings, until we crash head-on into satan’s mountain of trickery.
I have seen and read about far too many of our stars who were robbed amidst the evil
the darkness of drug addiction that gave fodder to unscrupulous contract swindlers, rather than channeling their star status in a manner that sheds light brightly upon the darkness of evil and exposes it for what it is.
In other words, I say to the music industry- “Stop Killing Us.” Then I say to “us” – let’s “stop” letting them use, abuse, and “kill us” and our talented children. Otherwise, it would be better if we were to just live our lives away from the overrated glitter, and refuse to play in the ferocious game that comes with the “fame.”
We would be better off going elsewhere, somewhere away from the big stage and the colored lights, and live happily ever afterwards by letting the colorful “light” of spiritual wealth shine within the hopeless low and dark places; where the “stars” are those whose good works serve as “colored lights” within communities darkened by systematic violence and injustice.
While I urge that we take concrete steps going forward to avoid being used, abused, and disposed of by the prevalent evils within the dog-eat-dog music/entertainment industry, I am not here to judge these beautiful artists. I just come humbly with hopes that WE as God’s children, find ways to avoid each and every scheme of the devil.
The devil has found many ways to attack us through the music and “entertainment” that we love. The devil has found that we often receive such artful entertainment while letting our guard down and while letting our God down.
Lastly, I will enjoy the work of these talented and legendary artists while remembering them as some of the greatest gifts God had to offer in this old world. I also pray that God POWERFULLY blesses their HEARTS and SOULS in a manner similar to how they so generously, amazingly, richly, and uniquely ‘blessed’ our world with their heartfelt music; music that has become artistically packaged with so much “SOUL” that it can be heard and limitlessly enjoyed by every listener, beyond the limited physical life of the amazingly gifted artist.
Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood