Entertainment

Stevie Wonder: How He Became a Ladies’ Man

Published

10 years ago

March 3, 2015

Stevie Wonder performs during the finale of “Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute,” at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

by Stacy M. Brown
Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

Stevie Wonder practices what he preaches. One of our greatest love-song writers, composer of “My Cherie Amour” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” recently fathered his ninth child — with a fifth woman.

“No one has been a greater advocate for the power of love in this world than I have, both in my life and in my music,” Wonder once said.

Just prior to his “Songs in the Key of Life” concert that aired Feb. 16 on CBS, friends described his remarkable knack for finding pretty ladies. They say the 64-year-old Casanova met his fiancée, 40-year-old Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, with that same instinct.

“Like he does with all of the other women, they were at the same gathering and he smelled the kind of perfume she was wearing, she walked past him and he said she seemed light on her feet so she must be a pretty lady,” the source said.

Wonder himself has previously described how he meets women, saying that he was taken by his first wife, the late Syreeta Wright, because “she was fresh.”

He said he sensed her sexiness by touching the sleeves of her blouse.

“A lady that wears an expensive top, is not loud when she speaks and smells good, that’s how I know,” he said. “I know a lady of the world when I’m around her, so I really don’t need anyone to tell me she’s the one or she’s not.”

One former girlfriend, whom Wonder met in a Los Angeles church during Sunday worship, said that the singer’s entourage helps as well.

“I mean look, he’s sitting in the pew right behind me. He’s Stevie Wonder. Later, I found out that one of his guys that were with him told him, ‘Wow, she’s got a nice butt and a face to match,’ ” she said.

“But, I remember him tapping me on the shoulder, and his pick-up line was asking me what was it that brought me to church. I said, ‘I’m here every single Sunday because I believe in God’ and he says that he could give me all of the things God has promised to give me, only I didn’t need to pray to him.”

Another ex-girlfriend, who dated the singer for nearly five years, said Wonder wooed her by repeatedly showing up at church, even staying late, stealing her heart by giving piano lessons and turning gospel songs into love songs.

“He’d change the words and insert my name and his name in there and he’d even talk about what he thought would be good baby names and how he’d buy the most fabulous of houses and how he knew I could help him to take care of himself and do his heart right,” she said. “So, naturally, it wasn’t hard to fall for.”

Wonder has been married twice but fathered children — aged two months to 40 — with five women. His first child, Aisha, was born in 1975 and became the subject of hit song “Isn’t She Lovely.” Even Wonder’s mom, who died in 2006, acknowledged some of her son’s antics.

“He’d pick out a woman like Diana [Ross], or Martha Reeves and, before they’d come into the building, he’d get someone to tell him what color dress they were wearing,” Lula Hardaway said.

“When they’d come in, Steve would run up to them and say, ‘I love that red dress. I love those black shoes,’ and they’d be stopped in their tracks.”

But Wonder would soon learn that Ross — who was having an affair with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy — was off-limits.

“He flirted, but when it came to Diana, we had to let him know that she was the boss’ woman and the boss doesn’t play,” said Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops.

Stacy Brown is the co-author of “Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s Mother.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

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21 hours ago

December 20, 2024

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Promise Marks Performs Songs of Etta James in One-Woman Show, “A Sunday Kind of Love” at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley

“The (show) is a fictional story about a character named Etta, aka Lady Peaches,” said Marks. “She falls in love with Johnny Rhythm, leader of the Rhythm Players Band and headliners of Madam G’s Glitta Lounge.” Marks channeled the essence of Etta James, singing favorites such as “Sugar on the Floor” and “At Last.”

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy Of Promise Marks.

Special to the Post

It was “A Sunday Kind of Love” at the Black Repertory Group Theater in Berkeley on Saturday night, Dec. 7. The one-woman musical based on the music of Etta James featured the multi-talented singer Promise Marks

Marks, who wrote and directed the musical, also owns PM Productions.

Marks channeled the essence of Etta James, singing favorites such as “Sugar on the Floor” and “At Last.”

In between her soulful songs, Marks narrated impactful moments of the love story and journey of blues and forgiveness.

Marks sultry voice carried the audience back to an era that echoed with the power of Black music and a time of great change.

Marks said James shared love for the Black community by singing at gatherings during the Civil Rights Movement uplifting the people.

“She spoke to the movement, spoke to the people, and let her music speak for itself,” Marks said.

Backing the musical’s monologues, images and videos of Etta James are projected for the audience to view. While the production is fictional, Marks infused script with the unfairness and heartbreak James experienced while performing.

Marks performed gospel artist Donnie McClurkin’s “We Fall Down” as she narrated acts of reconciliation and forgiveness among the characters at Johnny Rhythm’s deathbed.

Marks, who regularly sings for the Miss America Pageant, was asked to perform as Etta James last year. “(At the event) a lady yelled out to me: ‘You’re Etta James!’ And then the audience went crazy. I said to myself, ‘I may have something here,’” she said.

Within 12 months, Marks created the musical production, which featured a dozen songs honoring “the great legacy of Etta James,” she said.

Marks says she was saddened to see how Etta James was often judged by the struggles in her life and wanted to offer attendees a more layered view.

“Etta’s life was so big. I want people to know that she was more than her drug addiction,” said Marks. “We can’t make that her legacy. Her catalog is too amazing. You can’t just be that and have the catalog that she (created). I don’t want the addiction to be the focus: I want her music, her element, her sassiness, and what she brought to be the focus – her woman-ness, that she was strong, and I wanted to honor that.”

Set Designer Nora Burnette says she created the set segments to mirror James’ life story. A set designer for BRG since 2016, she explained that her process of researching the scenario and the character serve as her inspiration for her design.

“I try to design a set as close to real life as possible so that the actress can deliver the performance sincerely,” said Burnette. “By creating the right setting, it helps the actors release the true essence of a character.”

The set brought the story to life and absolutely floored Marks. “Once Promise (Marks) saw the actual set, she understood my vision: ‘Wow, you get me. You get it,'” Marks told the designer.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins, Etta James, began her career in 1954 and gained fame with hits such “At Last” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.” She faced a number of personal problems, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album “Seven Year Itch.”

Co-producer and BRG Development Director, Sean Vaughn Scott, works with Overseer Production. According to producer Pamela Spikes, “Marks talent truly does Etta’s life story justice.”

Pam Jacobs of Hercules, a friend of Marks’ mom, Jackie Smith, said, Marks “was fabulous and sang all of those songs flawlessly.”

“I’m so proud of my daughter,” said Smith.

Marks, who has served as an instructor for BRG, will return on Feb. 21- 23 for an encore run of the musical.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the BRG (Black Repertory Group) family and continue our executive director Dr. Mona Vaughn Scott’s vision for the Black Repertory Group theater,” said Marks.

The Black Repertory Group Theatre is located at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703. For information, visit: BlackRepertoryGroup.com