A Letter From The Author: Kim Seabrooks
A Note From The Author: Kim Seabrooks
I want to write you a personal note. You guys never cease to amaze me. Your support overwhelms me. The days when I am feeling low, your words encourage me. We can’t plan life. All we can do is be available for it. And that is what I am doing. I am available to you and I am experiencing all kinds of greatness through your words and support. Thank you for being there. Blessings, Kim
Inspirational Woman Of The Day: Aretha Franklin
Inspiration Of Motherhood: Baby bikini onesie: Funny or infuriating?
Women’s News: Calls for More Women in Secret Service Amid Prostitution Scandal
A Message From The Creator
You Can Be Whatever You Want To Be!
There is inside you
All of the potential
To be whatever you want to be;
All of the energy
To do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
Doing what you want to do,
And each day, take one step
Towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
Hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
That you are the person you dreamed of,
Doing what you wanted to do,
Simply because you had the courage
To believe in your potential
And to hold on to your dream.
-Donna Levine
Inspirational Woman Of The Day: Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, the fourth of five children of a Baptist preacher and a gospel singer. A gifted singer and pianist, Franklin went on tour with her father’s traveling revival show and later went to New York and signed with Columbia records. Over time she released singles that would become classics. She has won 18 Grammys and continues to perform.
Early Talent
Born Aretha Louise Franklin on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Baptist preacher Reverend Clarence La Vaughan “C.L.” Franklin, and mother Barbara Siggers Franklin, a gospel singer. The fourth of five children, Franklin’s parents separated by the time she was six; four years later, her mother succumbed to a heart attack. Guided by C.L.’s preaching assignments, the family relocated to Detroit, Michigan. C.L. eventually landed at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, where he gained national renown as a preacher.
Franklin’s musical gifts became apparent at an early age. Largely self-taught, she was regarded as a child prodigy. A gifted pianist with a powerful voice, Franklin sang in front of her father’s Detroit congregation. By the age of 14, she recorded some of her earliest tracks at the church. She also performed with C.L.’s traveling revival show and, while on tour, she befriended gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Clara Ward.
Soul Star
Life on the road exposed Franklin to adult behaviors and at the age of 15, she became a mother. Her second child followed two years later. After a brief hiatus she returned to performing, and followed heroes like Cooke and Dinah Washington into pop and blues territory. With her father’s blessing, Franklin traveled to New York in 1960. After being courted by several labels, including Motown and RCA, Aretha signed to Columbia Records. She released The Great Aretha Franklin for the label that same year.
In 1961, the single “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody” hit No. 37 on the pop charts. Franklin had a few top 10 singles on the R&B charts, but they failed to showcase the talent evident in her gospel music. She and new husband-cum-manager Ted White decided a move was in order, and Franklin moved to Atlantic in 1967. Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler immediately shuttled Franklin to the studios at the Florence Alabama Musical Emporium.
Paired with sidemen trained in soul, blues, rock and gospel—including session guitarists Eric Clapton and Duane Allman—Aretha recorded the single “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You).” In the midst of recording sessions, White quarreled with a member of the backing band, and White and Franklin left abruptly. As the single became a massive top 10 hit, Franklin re-emerged in New York, and was able to complete the partially recorded track, “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.”
Franklin cemented her reign in 1967 and 1968 with a string of hit singles that would become enduring classics. In 1967, the album “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” was released. The first song on the album, “Respect,” an empowered cover of an Otis Redding track, reached No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts, and won Aretha her first two Grammy awards. She also had top 10 hits with “Baby I Love You,” “Think,” “Chain of Fools,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
In 1968, Franklin was enlisted to perform at the funeral of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. She paid tribute to her father’s fallen friend with a heartfelt rendition of “Precious Lord. ” She also sang at the 1968 Democratic Convention. The following year, she and White divorced. Franklin performed again at the 1972 funeral of Mahalia Jackson. Spurred by Jackson’s passing and a subsequent resurgence of interest in gospel music, Franklin’s 1972 album Amazing Grace sold over two million units, becoming the best-selling gospel album at the time.
Personal and Professional Struggles
Franklin’s success continued throughout the 70s, and as the artist took home eight consecutive Grammy awards for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance, she earned the title “The Queen of Soul.” She worked tirelessly and expanded her repertoire to include rock and pop covers, but by 1975 her sound was fading in favor of the disco craze. In the wake of this new genre, an emerging set of young black singers such as Chaka Khan and Donna Summer began to eclipse Franklin’s career. She found a brief respite from slumping sales with 1976’s soundtrack toSparkle, as well as an invitation to perform at the 1977 presidential inauguration. In 1978, she married actor Glynn Turman.
A string of chart failures ended Franklin’s relationship with Atlantic in 1979. The same year, her father was hospitalized after a burglary attempt in his home left him in a coma. As her popularity waned and her father’s health declined, Franklin was also saddled with a massive bill from the IRS. A cameo in the film The Blues Brothers (1980) helped Franklin revive her flagging career. Performing “Think” alongside comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd exposed her to a new generation of R&B lovers, and she soon signed to Arista Records. Her new label released 1982’sJump To It, an album that enjoyed huge success on the R&B charts and earned Franklin a Grammy nomination. Two years later, she endured a divorce from Turman as well as the death of her father.
Comeback
In 1985, Aretha released another smash-hit album. The polished pop record Who’s Zoomin’ Who? featured the single “Freeway of Love,” as well as a collaboration with the popular rock band the Eurythmics. The record became Aretha’s biggest-selling album yet. Her follow-up album, 1986’s Aretha, also went gold, and the George Michael duet “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” hit No. 1 on the pop charts. The next year, Franklin’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame marked the first time a woman had ever been awarded such an honor. The same year, the University of Detroit credited her with an honorary doctorate. In 1993, she was invited to sing at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, and in 1994, Franklin was given a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys. Over the next few years, she became the subject of multiple documentaries and tributes.
In 1998, Franklin reprised her former role in Blues Brothers 2000, released the gold-selling “A Rose Is Still A Rose,” and stood in for Luciano Pavarotti, who was too ill to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award. Her rendition of “Nessun Dorma” commanded stellar reviews.
In 2003, Franklin released her final studio album on Arista, So Damn Happy, and left the label to found Aretha Records. Two years later, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and became the second woman ever to be inductedinto the UK Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, she received her 18th Grammy Award for ” Never Gonna Break My Faith”—a collaboration with Mary J. Blige—and was tapped to sing at the 2009 inauguration of president Barack Obama. Most recently, Franklin’s released her first album on her own label, A Woman Falling Out of Love, in 2011.
To support her album, Franklin gave several concerts,
including a two-night stint at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York. Both fans and critics were impressed with her performances, in which she showed that the Queen of Soul still reigns supreme.
In her personal life, however, Franklin seemed to be going through some challenging times. She announced that she was getting married to her “forever friend” William “Willie” Wilkerson in January 2012 and they planned to tie the knot in that summer. Only a short time later, Franklin told the press that the wedding off. The couple had “decided we were moving a little too fast, and there were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly.”
More than a week after breaking off her engagement, Franklin suffered another great personal loss. The death of her goddaughter, Whitney Houston, on February 11, 2012, deeply saddened her. “It’s so stunning and unbelievable,” Franklin wrote on her Facebook page. “My heart goes out to Cissy, her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby.”
Inspiration Of Motherhood: Baby bikini onesie: Funny or infuriating?
When I first saw this image, my 1st thoughts were, too sexy looking for a baby, too grown up and just the wrong image for a baby. I want to here from you guys. What do you think about this image for a baby?
Women’s News: Calls for More Women in Secret Service Amid Prostitution Scandal
Hey Everyone, I would like your thoughts on this story!!! Thank you, Kim.
Washington has begun asking if the Secret Service needs more women in the organization in the wake of the prostitution incident in Cartagena, Colombia that has led to six agents being fired or resigning.
The call comes after it became public on Saturday that a woman named Paula Reid, who heads the Miami field office for the Secret Service, which also overseas South America, was the supervisor who moved quickly to contain last week’s scandal.
Eleven agents were pulled from their assignments as part of the advance staff preparing for President Obama’s trip to Cartagena after allegations emerged that one of the agents had a dispute over payment with a prostitute.
I can’t help, but wonder if there’d been more women as part of that detail if this ever would have happened,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
While Reid wasn’t in charge of President Obama’s security detail, she was the agent who notified Washington about the incident, which has turned into an international scandal. Sources say it was ultimately the decision of Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan to pull the men out of Colombia.
“I can’t help but keep asking this question, ‘Where are the women?’” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on “This Week.” “We probably need to diversify the Secret Service and have more minorities and more women.”
Secret Service officials insist that there are plenty of women in key roles. Currently, there are at least two deputy assistant directors — the head of the legal department, and the head of the Paris field office — who are women.
LadyRomp 