0:07

This is not a video . When I was coming

0:09

out , we had to go outside the city . We

0:12

had to go travel , go out of town , beat down doors

0:14

. This was the first time Bill has ever gone on this set

0:16

.

0:19

He said here comes the token . This is not a

0:21

video .

0:22

And out of my mouth I said F

0:24

you , but all the fans are asking

0:26

for positive women with family

0:28

and business . That's

0:31

what we bring to the show , and yet still it's

0:33

like oh , she's boring . It's

0:35

my real story . This is really who I am . I

0:38

build myself off a dollar and dream

0:40

without a man's help , without a basketball

0:43

player . Particularly , the patriarchal

0:45

box says white cisgender

0:48

males have defined for us should

0:51

be how we define ourselves . I

0:54

didn't say it . That's what

0:56

we're saying on the street , the streets

0:58

, the avenues and the bulletin . Welcome

1:00

, welcome

1:05

, welcome . You're now tuned into

1:07

another amazing edition of Sign

1:09

you On Air . And how do I start each

1:11

and every single episode ? You

1:17

guessed it . I have another great show for you . I'm

1:19

excited . I'm excited . But before I tell

1:21

you about today's guest , I need you to

1:24

subscribe . Sign you On Air

1:26

streams across every major

1:28

streaming platform . If you're watching

1:30

this Sign you On Air episode on YouTube

1:32

, not only subscribe , but make

1:35

sure you hit the little notification bell . That

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1:39

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1:41

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1:43

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ones to know . So go ahead and hit that notification

1:48

button and go across every streaming platform

1:50

and make sure that you subscribe to

1:52

Sign you On Air . Now back to today's

1:54

guest . Now , she's

1:57

been on Sign you On Air twice . The

2:00

first time was in the early days of

2:02

Sign you On Air , when I started off

2:04

as a radio show and a podcast

2:07

and she is back today . I

2:09

have none other than the

2:11

legendary , iconic

2:13

five-active

2:16

voice-sanging Melba

2:19

Moore . When

2:22

I tell you , it is an honor just to have

2:24

a conversation with

2:26

this woman who has

2:28

really left such strong footprints

2:30

throughout the music industry , and

2:33

what I really want to do in this conversation

2:35

with Ms Moore is to give her her flowers

2:37

. I don't think the music industry

2:40

really pays their respects

2:42

to the icons

2:44

, the legends , the people

2:47

that really started music

2:49

for black folk . You know

2:51

, I don't think that we give them their flowers

2:53

. We are in this new space of

2:56

the transference of

2:58

the guards for a better lack of

3:00

description where there is

3:02

an emergence of new artists , and

3:04

these artists today don't have any idea about

3:07

the Melba Moors of it all . So

3:09

this is what this episode will

3:11

do is introduce this

3:13

younger generation to the legendary

3:16

Ms Melba Moore and

3:18

then remind the seasoned

3:20

, grown folks , remind them

3:22

. She ain't done yet

3:25

, not at all . So we are going to be talking

3:27

about her early beginnings navigating

3:29

through the music industry

3:31

. She was also in Broadway

3:34

, plays , television and

3:36

, if you don't know , by the end of this conversation

3:38

you're going to know Ms Melba

3:41

Moore . So I'm excited . So

3:43

, before I bring Ms Moore

3:45

into the Sonia On Air Studio . Let's

3:48

just hop into some celebrity

3:50

news . So

3:55

today I want to talk

3:58

about Jonathan Majors . He's

4:01

back in the news . Back in the news

4:03

. So if you don't know who Jonathan

4:06

Majors is , go ahead and Google him . But he's

4:08

appeared in such hit films

4:10

such as Creed III and

4:13

also Lovecraft Country . They

4:16

need to bring that series back . Lovecraft

4:18

Country loved it , loved it , loved it . I don't

4:20

even know why it was canceled , but Jonathan

4:23

Majors , if you don't recall , back in

4:25

March of 2023

4:27

, he was arrested and charged

4:30

with assaulting his girlfriend

4:32

. Now , the girlfriend

4:34

was saying oh , he beat me up and Jonathan

4:36

claimed his innocence all

4:38

this time . And you know , the court

4:41

of public opinion called social media the

4:43

judge and jury of them all . They

4:46

tried and committed Jonathan

4:50

Majors . But lo and behold

4:52

, lo and behold , recently

4:56

, recently , like last night okay

4:59

, the police are now

5:01

filing charges against the ex-girlfriend

5:04

who claimed that Jonathan beat her

5:06

up . Lo and behold , she's

5:09

the one who hurt herself . So

5:12

wait a minute . So this

5:14

is what happened at . This incident happened at 1240

5:17

am in New York City , midtown

5:20

. Now , I don't know about you , but

5:23

if you come from the melanin-dopeness

5:25

households , your

5:27

grandma or your mother told you , the only

5:30

people outside after midnight

5:32

are pimps , holes

5:34

and those looking for trouble . So

5:40

trouble found them . We're

5:42

not even going to get into the race issue of

5:44

it all . I'm just going to leave that alone

5:46

. But what

5:48

this really says , once again

5:51

, is when you put

5:53

things out there in the public , social

5:55

media and this whole digital space , it allows

5:57

people to make up so many opinions

5:59

about individuals that may not even

6:01

be true . They form so

6:03

many opinions before

6:05

they even go in front of the

6:07

judge . I'm telling you , social

6:10

media and this whole digital space is the

6:12

judge and jury of it all the

6:15

Supreme Court , the

6:17

president , parliament , the

6:22

House of Congress , the neighborhood mayor . They

6:25

are it all okay . So

6:28

I'm curious to find out . So

6:30

what happened ? The

6:33

NYPD ? What

6:35

they did was wait a minute

6:37

. They issued an iCard . I never heard of

6:39

this until I started learning about

6:41

this update of Jonathan

6:43

Majors . So the NYPD issued

6:46

an iCard . The

6:48

reason is , if the police were to run across

6:50

said girlfriend you know , just

6:52

run across her by accident that

6:57

there is probable cause for

6:59

her arrest . I don't get it

7:02

. Either you're going to arrest her

7:04

or you don't . So the iCard

7:06

just tells NYPD

7:08

that there is probable cause to arrest her . So

7:11

let's assume this happens . I

7:14

said woman is just walking down 34th

7:16

street and

7:19

NYPD officer approaches

7:21

her because he's

7:24

like , hmm , you look kind of

7:26

familiar and

7:29

he runs her name and

7:32

it says it says I probably

7:34

should arrest you , but I'm not sure . Is

7:36

that what an iCard mean ? I don't get it the

7:39

privilege of it all , because

7:43

you cannot be black in America roaming the streets

7:46

, roaming

7:49

the streets of

7:51

this fair land , with an iCard , because

7:54

when you have skin that looks like mine , it's

7:58

just guilty , guilty , guilty . Ain't

8:02

no probable cause , ain't no iCard , none of that . It is like a monopoly

8:04

game . Go

8:07

straight to jail . So I am curious

8:09

to see how this story

8:11

unfolds . But this is crazy . Once

8:15

again , I'm not going to get into the race issue

8:17

of it all . Because people can like who they

8:19

like , but

8:24

you've got to have a lot more discernment in choosing who you

8:26

like . Because another story it's

8:29

alleged that he's now boot up with Megan

8:31

Good for the past few months

8:33

. That

8:36

don't even look right to me . I

8:38

don't know . I

8:40

don't know . I don't know

8:42

. I'm just

8:44

going to leave it at that . So why don't

8:47

we do this ? Let's

8:51

get back to the show and

8:55

talk about Miss Melba Moore . Let's

8:59

do that . So

9:08

, like I told you , I have coming up in just a few short

9:10

moments , the iconic , the

9:13

legendary Miss Melba

9:15

Moore . This is a conversation

9:17

that I'm going to be leaning into , just

9:20

like every celebrity that I bring here

9:22

on . Sonia Onia , I'm definitely leaning in . I'm

9:25

a perpetual learner , no

9:27

matter what space is that I'm in . If

9:29

I'm surrounded by greatness . Every

9:31

word that they say is

9:34

a teachable moment for me . Some

9:36

lessons I might take . Some lessons I

9:38

might say , huh , let me think about that a little bit more

9:40

. But she

9:43

did it right . She did it

9:45

right and she's a

9:47

woman of a particular age who has gone through

9:49

a few things , but she's still a lot

9:51

to learn . So why not start continue

9:54

learning today with

9:56

the five octave singing

9:59

? No , the five octave singing

10:01

, because there's a difference between singing and singing

10:03

Legendary

10:08

. And what Miss Melba Moore doesn't know is I was introduced

10:10

to her Okay

10:14

, in my head All

10:19

when I was in elementary school . I was in a story . When Miss

10:21

Moore joins us , so why don't

10:23

we just bring in the legendary

10:25

icon Singer

10:28

, miss Melba ? Hi

10:31

, miss Moore .

10:33

Can you see me and hear me ? Yes

10:35

, I can . Okay , sweetie .

10:38

How are you ? Fantastic ? How are

10:40

you ? I'm blessed , I'm

10:42

blessed . Let me tell you why I'm blessed

10:44

. Today , please tell me , I'm

10:47

in your space having a conversation

10:49

with you . Uh-oh , that's

10:52

me . Let

10:56

me tell you . Anytime I can tap into

10:58

someone who was instrumental

11:01

in my life , it is an honor

11:03

and it is a blessing . Wow

11:05

, well , great . So

11:08

let's just jump right into

11:10

it , because I really want the purpose

11:13

of this conversation to introduce

11:16

you to a new generation

11:18

and to remind my generation

11:20

of all the wonderful and amazing

11:22

things that you have done throughout the years

11:24

. So let's just start with your early

11:26

years as a music teacher in Newark

11:29

, new Jersey . Talk about that .

11:32

Oh , that was amazing . I did not want to teach

11:34

. My

11:37

natural father was a big band leader very well

11:39

known by the name of Teddy Hill . My

11:41

mother was . They did not marry , but my mother

11:44

was a professional singer . So my point is

11:46

, it was in my genes , it was in my DNA , but

11:48

then she married a piano player from Newark

11:50

, new Jersey . So

11:53

now I have a father , but he had a son

11:56

and a daughter . So now , instead of being just a disjointed

11:58

, you know discombobulated , and

12:01

you know your families broke up before you even start

12:03

. Yeah , now I got a sister , a brother

12:05

. We had two more brothers later , I

12:08

had cousins and I had a family . That's

12:10

very important . But

12:13

because mother and daddy worked together as

12:15

a professional group , my

12:18

mother was my step dad's lead singer in

12:20

his group and

12:22

so , because they were musicians , they

12:24

want all of us to have a good education

12:27

and perhaps be teachers . So

12:29

that was the inspiration for that

12:31

, and they want us to have real

12:34

jobs . So

12:38

I studied piano

12:40

along with my sister and brother . We all

12:42

became intimately acquainted with an

12:45

instrument . Also , before that , I

12:48

was nine years old and my mother met

12:50

and married my step dad . So

12:53

when you're the instrument , you usually

12:55

know you can sing by the time you're three or four years

12:57

old , but there was no music in my

12:59

life . No , so

13:02

none . No family

13:04

, lots of abuse and terrible

13:07

things that happened when a man is not in

13:09

the house to protect you , especially when you're

13:11

a little girl . But

13:14

now I have this incredible

13:16

gentleman . His name is Clement Mormon

13:19

, which is where I took the name

13:21

Moore . Okay . My

13:23

name was Smith . Really

13:26

, yeah , I

13:28

was a little girl from so much and the way he treated my mother and us

13:30

, it made us the family . I

13:33

remember I started my life on the

13:36

streets , were in New York City . So

13:38

you play on the streets and whatever , and you

13:40

know , if you're a girl and you're very like I

13:42

was , you get kind of rough already . Yeah

13:46

, so glad to have a brother because I could

13:48

fight him , you know , and

13:53

I was there with him and said , melba , he looked me in my eye

13:55

and the first grown man I ever heard

13:57

Look me in my eye

13:59

and look with the love of the concerns . And , melba

14:02

, you can't fight anymore . You

14:04

have to learn how to communicate . And maybe

14:07

part , I have a sister , my sister . You

14:09

know , I was so close , which she's my step sister

14:12

, which is my sister . You know . I

14:14

don't know about step no more . You know what I'm saying . I

14:16

learned family but he

14:18

wanted us to be teachers . My

14:22

brother was passed away . It was great . He

14:24

was also a teacher . My sister

14:27

just retired a couple of years ago from public

14:29

school teaching . She taught elementary

14:33

schools , which means she taught generally

14:35

, but her field was history teacher

14:38

and I

14:40

became a music teacher because

14:43

I don't know about music , so

14:46

I learned that and learned how to teach it , and

14:48

because daddy and mother said so . I

14:50

went to school and I want to say

14:52

that I absolutely adored teaching

14:55

. I became another person

14:57

. It's like becoming an actor in a play

15:00

. You get in front of the children

15:02

and you see them look at you and you have

15:04

a teacher's plan and taught everything

15:06

how to do . And you there , it

15:10

transforms you , yeah it

15:12

does .

15:13

I can definitely agree and relate . As I'm

15:15

listening to you , I'm like , oh my gosh , we

15:17

have so many similarities . I

15:20

too started off

15:22

my early career in education . I'm still

15:24

in education as a

15:26

director of many high schools , but

15:29

started off as a classroom teacher , a special

15:31

education teacher very

15:33

, very transformative for my life and that's

15:35

a way to give back to to

15:37

my community . But do you find

15:39

that teaching back then and

15:42

teaching now are two different worlds

15:44

?

15:45

But I knew this was coming . Well

15:50

, first of all , I started out my

15:52

education in Catholic school and

15:55

they could hit you , you know and

15:57

you learn , the

16:00

10 come damage and you know , you know , the catechism

16:02

is very , very , very strict . And

16:04

then , when I came to Newark , I went to public schools Different

16:07

, huge , hugely

16:10

different . And what I saw as

16:13

I taught there I taught about

16:15

maybe four or five years , maybe

16:17

maybe less was was

16:19

especially , of course , in junior high school

16:21

, when the kids

16:23

are starting to go into puberty and the hormones take

16:25

over and you might as well be

16:28

teaching in a jail and

16:31

you are the prisoner , not them .

16:36

Tell me about it . Tell me , miss Moore

16:38

. I work with high school students and

16:40

every night before I go to sleep

16:43

I have to go for a therapy reflection

16:45

walk Just

16:48

to unpack the day and

16:50

recalibrate and show up brand new

16:53

and refresh the next day .

16:54

But I started off working in prison , so it

16:56

prepared me to work with similar , unfortunately

16:59

, what I saw happening

17:01

, especially perhaps

17:03

because I know because I was a music teacher

17:05

, the principal on down did

17:07

not respect that category . Yeah

17:10

. They don't know the value of it , the power

17:12

of it , and

17:15

so I saw a lot of different instances

17:17

where the top down did not respect

17:19

the school system . Yeah

17:22

. And so as

17:24

I went on , especially toward in junior

17:27

high school , I could see how the breakdown

17:29

of that would deteriorate the

17:32

school system over the years . And that's

17:34

what's happened . You have to have armed guards in there now

17:36

.

17:37

Yeah , yeah , and

17:39

the way that our students are lined

17:41

up outside of the building

17:44

just to get through scanning .

17:46

It's like the pipeline to the prison

17:48

system , because Well , personally , you're

17:50

saying scanning , because the

17:53

people who ran that system have

17:55

led a deteriorate to that point

17:57

and have been so selfish

17:59

. What have education and people about

18:02

their desires and their needs ? They have not

18:04

taken care of the

18:07

students they have . So the system is gone , so

18:09

it's not safe for anyone .

18:11

No , it's not . It's really not

18:13

. So you had a history

18:16

experience as a teacher

18:18

in Newark , New Jersey , but then something

18:21

happened where you landed on

18:23

Broadway .

18:24

Well , what happened was I didn't want to be a teacher

18:26

, right , I'm

18:32

just saying as being a part of the system . I could see

18:34

what was coming down the road . That's not why I

18:36

left . I really had a strong desire

18:39

to try to be a performer and so I went

18:41

to my stepdad , or my dad , and I said Well

18:43

, I'm teaching because you've told

18:45

me to teach you , you want me to teach , and I'm very good

18:47

at it and I love it , but I'm going to

18:49

try to be an entertainer . I want to try to be a

18:51

performer like you and mother . You're laughing so much fun . Right

18:55

, right . So I asked my

18:57

dad to take me around to some of his agents

18:59

and people to get me into the industry and

19:01

to make a long story longer story a

19:03

little bit shorter . One of the first people we

19:05

ran into taking a meeting with

19:08

somebody and we

19:10

were all in kind of the reception area was

19:12

Valerie Simpson . We

19:14

were all trying to make meetings , trying

19:16

to do things , yeah , and

19:19

so we exchanged numbers and she got me involved

19:21

with studio backup scenes . So that was my

19:23

entry into show business .

19:25

Oh , wow , yeah , the

19:27

right place at the right time with the right person

19:29

.

19:30

That's my story .

19:32

And you were ready , and you were

19:34

ready . Let me tell you about another

19:36

impact that you made on my life , just talking

19:38

about your segue into Broadway

19:41

. I was , I was a young

19:43

tenderoni in

19:45

elementary school and I had an amazing

19:48

music teacher by the name

19:50

of Paula Holmes rest

19:53

in power and she

19:55

would have us put on these huge Broadway

19:58

productions and the first song

20:00

that we ever sang was from

20:02

Perley , and

20:05

I had no idea who

20:07

Melba Moore was , but she she

20:09

wanted to make sure that the lyrics

20:11

resonated with us , that we knew who

20:14

Melba Moore was . She gave us this whole

20:16

history lesson so that

20:18

when we sing such words as I

20:21

ain't never seen a man

20:23

do the things that

20:25

that man can , my Perley

20:28

Like we knew exactly

20:30

what we were singing because she told us about

20:32

you . So in elementary

20:34

school , that was when I first

20:36

learned about you , miss

20:38

Melba Moore , and once again , that's why I'm honored

20:41

to have you in front of me for the second

20:43

time on signing on here . Talk

20:46

about just your entire experience

20:48

on Broadway .

20:50

Well , before I do that , that's the same thing I used

20:52

to do in the classrooms , whatever the music was on

20:55

the radio . What was that ? We use

20:57

that , for example , so that we could have

20:59

something to start to relate to . Well

21:03

, okay , well , the first , the first opportunity

21:06

I had on Broadway , came because of recording

21:08

session that I was doing along with Nick

21:10

and Val and a whole bunch of other background singers for

21:13

Gott McDermott , who wrote the music for the Broadway

21:16

show Hair , and they were still

21:18

casting . So they were still looking

21:20

for strong black singers for this parody

21:22

that they were going to do on the Supremes . That

21:24

was the main feature thing that they were still casting

21:27

for . So

21:29

when the date was finished , they invited all of us to come

21:31

and sing for the director and the producer . Nobody

21:33

else on the date wanted to do that , so I did . So

21:35

I got on Broadway , I got into

21:39

my first Broadway show , which was Hair , but before

21:41

I left the show because I stayed

21:43

in for almost two years it was longer than that

21:45

, maybe almost three

21:47

years they

21:51

kept changing the lead and one of the

21:53

girls in the course was

21:55

a black girl . She said why come , I can be . I thought

21:57

this was free love and you know , and

21:59

you know freedom and equity and you know everything's

22:02

. You know you don't have to be pushed up because

22:04

you black . She said how come a black girl

22:06

can't do the female lead ? And I said , well

22:08

, as white people ? They said we didn't think

22:10

of it . So

22:13

so they let me try out for it . And

22:15

they rehearsed before the matinees

22:17

, but the person I wound up replacing

22:19

was Diane Keaton .

22:21

Yes . But , that's how it happened

22:23

, wow , so so

22:26

you were actually the first African

22:28

American actress in a Broadway

22:31

production to take over a leading role

22:33

previously held by a white

22:35

woman , diane Keaton . Yeah

22:39

, have you fully accepted the magnitude

22:41

of that first milestone ? No

22:44

.

22:46

That's why I'm telling the story like it is . First , we need

22:48

to see by how it happened . I

22:51

don't know how good it works , I

22:55

don't know . I'll

22:57

tell you the next one After I've been

22:59

doing that for a long time . That's saying big

23:01

mouth black girls have not been doing the show for three

23:03

years . You need to start going . You

23:05

know , learn how to audition , because you really didn't

23:07

audition for this . She told me

23:10

how you auditioned and she told me that we're

23:12

having auditions for this new Black Broadway

23:14

show and she

23:16

told me where to get a script and everything . And

23:18

I saw she said don't worry about trying to get the

23:20

role , just you need to learn how to audition

23:23

. You don't even know how to audition . So I was trying

23:25

to learn how to audition but I got the part , but that was

23:27

to play Pearl . Wow

23:31

. But the reason I had the

23:33

ability to play that little country girl was because

23:35

that's who I was raised by , because my mother was

23:38

a single parent . She was going all the time . So

23:40

the person who raised me was illiterate

23:43

, she was

23:45

orphaned , she didn't

23:47

know who her parents were and

23:49

she somehow came up north from North

23:52

Carolina with

23:54

some family that she worked with . So

23:56

that's really kind of who I was Just country

23:59

and a broken family . And

24:02

she said well , this is how

24:04

you do it . I said okay .

24:07

I'll try it , but coming

24:09

from that you know , like

24:11

you said , a broken family

24:14

being raised by someone from the South

24:16

who was illiterate how were

24:18

you still strong enough to navigate

24:21

through Broadway in such a time where there

24:23

weren't really spaces , comfortable

24:25

spaces for people like

24:27

us ?

24:27

Yes , Because I was raised

24:29

by an orphaned

24:31

sharecropper and then I

24:34

know nothing else . Yeah , yeah

24:36

, I mean we'd

24:38

be scared of everything anyway , but we go anyway

24:41

.

24:43

That speaks to the strength of where we came

24:45

from . That's where we are . Yes , and

24:47

you know , I was having a conversation with

24:50

a woman today

24:52

and just talking about being in the valley

24:54

and oftentimes our experience is sometimes

24:56

in the valley . There's no way

24:58

up for . There's no other way

25:00

, but up for us

25:02

because we come from the

25:04

fight , we come from winning

25:07

, we come from navigating through struggles

25:09

and that's why I wanted to

25:11

address another whiteboard is grassroots

25:14

.

25:14

It's the root of everything . So you

25:16

may be scared but you're not really uncomfortable because you

25:18

know that's , that's

25:21

natural , supernatural , it's

25:23

the essence of everything . Yeah , I

25:26

mean you may not know all . I mean I can articulate

25:28

it now , that education and then on Broadway

25:30

I have interviews . I can say it

25:32

now , but you are it .

25:37

That really resonated . You are

25:40

it ? Yeah , because sometimes

25:42

people are still trying to figure it out

25:44

. They are listening to other people

25:46

without understanding . Just like you

25:48

said , you are it .

25:52

You have to keep trying to figure it out , because God is always doing

25:54

something new , but it's wonderful

25:56

to be able to sit here and say to people you

25:58

are it and you know what I'm saying is

26:00

true . You know , we're not talking about anything specific

26:03

. We're talking about your

26:05

culture , your heritage , if you're a black person

26:07

, but of course doesn't matter what

26:09

race you are . Whatever it is , you

26:12

are it .

26:12

You are it , you are enough . Yeah

26:15

, I love that . So

26:17

, navigating through

26:20

Broadway and then you

26:22

land on television . Now a family

26:24

member told me to tell you this because

26:27

I was still a baby at that time , so I really don't

26:29

have any recollection . Like I said , my first introduction

26:31

to you was when I was in elementary school in

26:33

the 80s . But my

26:36

older aunt she told me , she said tell

26:38

Ms Moore , that while everyone

26:40

was racing to the television to

26:42

watch Sonny and Cher

26:44

, we have Melba Moore

26:46

and Clifton Davis . How

26:48

did you land on television ?

26:50

You knew the black , sonny and Cher .

26:54

How did you land ?

26:55

on television . I have

26:57

to say thank you to Ms Calvinette

26:59

.

27:00

Wow , another icon .

27:05

How did that happen ? Well , I'm

27:07

trying to think there were some agents who came

27:09

to see the show . I'm

27:12

trying to think I don't think

27:14

I had an agent yet . I might have had . I can't

27:16

remember all the details , but

27:18

I was also romantically

27:21

involved with Clifton Davis at the time and

27:24

he was he was , I tell you what was happening on

27:26

Broadway at that time . He was down the

27:28

road in the course of Hello Dolly

27:30

, which was then starring Ms Pearl

27:32

Bailey , and her leading man was Cab

27:34

Calloway and one of the ingenue

27:37

parts was Chris Calloway , cab's

27:39

daughter . Anyway

27:42

, that was an incredible time and Clifton

27:45

and I were dating and Clifton

27:47

left Hello Dolly to

27:49

get his first male

27:51

lead role in a musical called

27:53

Two Gentlemen of Arona

27:55

, which was kind of a remake of a Shakespeare

27:58

story . But so we were already

28:00

the Black , sunny and Share . We

28:02

were the love interest and the

28:04

offer was made to both of us to

28:07

do the summer replacement . I guess they

28:09

made the arrangement with Carol Burnett . That

28:13

happened I'm trying to remember or understand

28:16

how all this happened and

28:19

so we got it as a replacement TV

28:22

show and that's

28:25

how that happened . But then , you know , they

28:27

brought the writers and , you

28:30

know , created the whole CBS

28:33

did the whole concept of the show . I

28:35

don't know whose idea was . I know a big

28:37

song was called Up on the Roof , so

28:40

we did our performances

28:44

on the roof . I guess that

28:46

was first of all .

28:47

That was very colored , you know , but

28:49

you know , as you're

28:51

mentioning your , your , your

28:53

relationship with Clifton Davis

28:55

, I'm like you know what . So Beyoncé

28:58

and Jay-Z was not the first one , it

29:00

was Melba Moy and Clifton Davis . How about that

29:02

? So

29:07

, once again in a space on television

29:10

where we didn't see too many people like

29:12

us , right , how

29:15

did you still have the strength

29:17

to say I'm going to

29:19

keep moving forward and

29:22

answering God's assignments . For my next

29:24

assignment , I don't think .

29:26

I don't think I knew so much that it was God then , but

29:29

my parents were entertainers . This is what

29:31

I saw around the old time . I mean people

29:33

like Sarah Vaughn came to my house .

29:35

Really yeah , oh

29:38

my gosh . I met Ella

29:40

Fitzgerald in the airport one day she

29:43

said hello to me , I would

29:45

have , I would have fanned out , I would have fainted .

29:48

I did . I mean , I didn't pass out , but so

29:52

these were our daydreams , yeah

29:54

.

29:55

Yeah , but see , see how you talk

29:57

about people that you've met and

30:00

you fanned out . That's how I feel

30:02

about you .

30:04

Do ? Have you ever heard the song that I do ? Colleen

30:07

on me . Of course you

30:10

know where I got that from when Miss

30:14

Aretha Franklin .

30:18

Another icon .

30:20

I couldn't stand to watch her without screaming

30:23

until I got hoarse . So

30:25

if I had a shoulder I wouldn't go see Miss

30:28

Aretha .

30:29

Wow , talking about

30:32

, you mentioned , like Carol Burnett , clifton

30:34

Davis , aretha Franklin

30:37

, like I

30:39

would say , like , who

30:41

was the number one person that you wished

30:43

to meet , that you did meet .

30:47

I met everybody .

30:49

Name them , name some of them , name some more . Oh

30:52

gosh .

30:53

I met well people

30:55

that was , you know , kind of scary People

30:58

like Frank Sinatra , I

31:01

mean big , big , big , big , big big stars . You know

31:03

, I'm trying to think Because

31:07

people I love , like Lou Rawls and Nancy

31:09

Wilson and Cicely Tyson

31:11

, wow , icon , oh

31:13

, just so many , many , so many

31:15

, many , many , many , many people .

31:17

So can I ask you a question , just talking about the

31:19

relationships between people of color in

31:22

the industry back then , do you

31:24

think there was sort of like a camaraderie

31:26

back then that we don't have ?

31:29

I don't know that we don't find it today . I think we do .

31:31

Okay .

31:32

I do .

31:33

You think it's different in any way though ?

31:35

I'm sure it is because you know it's 50 years

31:37

now . Yeah , Wow , you

31:41

people , you young people come along . You don't even know what

31:43

that was like I know .

31:46

That's why I'm asking you like mention all of these names , because

31:48

to me it's just in the

31:51

middle of the world . I'm

31:53

not sure if you know who I saw on television , who

31:55

I heard my parents listening to .

31:58

I'm going to sit down and hear these type of stories because

32:00

I feel like I was there . But

32:03

do you , do you in your , in your field , meet

32:06

a lot of different well-known people ?

32:07

I'm sorry , say that again . In

32:10

your field of journalism , do you meet a lot of

32:12

people ? Yes , I do so

32:14

. Think about it like that . Yeah , and every time

32:16

I meet someone it's a teachable moment for me

32:18

. I'm a professional learner .

32:21

Right , each person , yeah

32:23

.

32:24

So who was the one person that you met

32:26

that you learned the most

32:28

from ? You can't

32:30

, you can't .

32:31

You can't , I could , I could . Okay

32:34

, cool , I said , oh

32:36

, you can't , you can't , oh yeah , you could . Who

32:39

is that ? One person might

32:41

be Pastor Shirley Caesar

32:43

.

32:45

Wow , I got greens

32:47

, beans , potatoes , hands and you name

32:50

it . I'm sorry .

32:51

What was a good example ? Because she's a

32:53

sacred artist , but she's in

32:55

all the world Like when we did . What

32:59

is it ? The temptation , the

33:02

movie ? The fighting , fighting

33:04

, fighting , fighting , fighting , fighting , fighting

33:06

, fighting . But

33:11

when I was having really , really , really difficult times and I didn't know that I was saved , but

33:13

trying to sing . But I didn't have no songs . So

33:17

one of the one of the people I met was Shirley

33:19

Murdock , who wrote some music

33:21

for me so I could do a gospel album , and she

33:23

did it . You have to listen to it . This

33:26

song is incredible . We both signed it . She

33:28

wrote it for me and she , you know she can sing anything . She

33:30

didn't sing over me or anything like that . She wrote

33:32

it for me and then she put herself and she sang

33:34

back up for me . Those experiences

33:37

you know . But but Pastor

33:39

Shirley and I would visit a lot of different churches

33:42

and it was

33:44

during a time when I lost everything , so she would

33:46

just be there with me , helping

33:49

me to navigate the church wall , because she knew I was saved

33:51

. First of all , and I wasn't a

33:53

gospel singer , I didn't have no songs

33:56

. But

33:58

we related on a Christian

34:00

level , right and as two fellow

34:03

artists and two Right Sorry

34:06

. Remember when , when , when Miss Oprah

34:08

had this big party for for

34:10

everybody at her house . We

34:14

were one of the parts of her mansion .

34:16

Well , you said Oprah .

34:18

Miss Oprah . Yes , oprah , okay

34:20

, okay . And we

34:22

were in one place . I was oh my God , there's Tina

34:24

Turner all over there . And

34:26

and the song said Melva , and it was Diana

34:29

Ross . I was oh my God . And

34:31

then Pastor said Melva , melva , who's that

34:33

over there ? She's one of them secular singers

34:36

. Who's that ? I said Pastor , that's Mary J

34:38

Blige .

34:39

Oh , to

34:41

be in that room . I

34:44

can only imagine the energy .

34:46

And she spoke to me like that because we

34:48

were friends . She

34:51

just whispered who's that over there ? Wow

34:54

, I think that's incredible .

34:56

Yeah , that is incredible . But what was the ? What

34:58

was the ? The , the biggest lesson that

35:01

Pastor Shirley Caesar left

35:03

you with ?

35:06

I'm not sure I pick out one thing . It's just

35:09

how she was .

35:10

Just how she was and that taught you how to

35:13

be very I .

35:14

I . I worked a lot of different things with her Different

35:17

community

35:20

events , church

35:22

types of things , films and stuff

35:25

and

35:27

it's she's very grassroots country . It's

35:31

all about how

35:35

you present yourself before God , if

35:38

it's the way you dress or whatever you know she

35:40

was like no , but look at that . Look at that Right . No

35:44

, that ain't right .

35:47

You know , Miss Moore , I got

35:49

a little distracted because I

35:51

grew up in a household where my

35:53

parents always had pictures on

35:55

the walls and the pictures told the

35:58

story of my lineage . What

36:01

are the pictures behind you ?

36:03

Oh , okay , the top

36:05

one is a picture of me

36:07

and Ted Kennedy . Wow

36:11

, this

36:14

is Charlton Heston , the man who played Moses

36:17

. Yes , this

36:20

is Bob Dole he

36:24

was a senator . Wow On

36:26

your walls , all my walls

36:29

, over here . These are some record

36:32

executives down here . This

36:34

is Bobby Brown , that's

36:36

Debbie Allen , that's Deanna Warwick , and

36:39

we're rehearsing to do lift every voice and sing the whole the

36:41

version that we do , with all the

36:43

different artists on it . And this

36:46

right here is Beth Midler , looking down

36:48

on me saying hello . Wow

36:51

. And I've got lots more .

36:53

Yeah , that's what I'm talking about . You

36:56

don't walk into households nowadays where

36:58

there's pictures of

37:00

your experiences lining the walls

37:02

. I got that from my parents and I've continued

37:04

that legacy , like my daughter and I . We take

37:06

pictures all the time because we want

37:08

to look back on those moments

37:10

. But I kind of want to move

37:13

back a little bit , because you mentioned briefly

37:15

the moment that you lost it all

37:18

. Yes , talk about that

37:20

. When did you lose it all and what

37:22

was the reason behind losing it all ?

37:26

Well , my then husband I didn't

37:28

realize it was a white collar criminal , and

37:30

one of the things that had happened was that I

37:33

found a document which revealed

37:35

that he had had someone forge my

37:38

signature on a divorce agreement

37:40

and he had divorced me for the

37:43

purpose of taking all of our assets . Oh

37:45

wow , and what ? I confronted

37:48

him ? Well then , everything hit the fan

37:50

and fell apart , and eventually

37:53

I counted for proper divorce , because

37:55

there was no mention that we had a child . And

37:58

then everything really

38:01

went downhill . I became homeless and

38:03

I lost my child . My

38:05

husband was my manager he's the reason I have all these hit

38:07

records even now Genius

38:10

is that and

38:13

so I

38:16

had to start all over again and

38:18

get my life back , and what

38:20

happened was I met a gentleman by the name of Michael

38:22

Matthews , who had

38:24

called me just before all of that manifested

38:28

and fell apart . He invited

38:30

me out on the road to do probably one

38:32

of the first gospel plays , and

38:34

I was saved . That had happened

38:36

. And

38:38

so when I went out there on the

38:40

road , it

38:43

was just amazing . First of all , it was a real gospel

38:45

. Everybody was saying there's

38:48

a lot of things I could tell you about it , but

38:50

I was devastated . I was just

38:52

beating , it was just . I wasn't angry or

38:54

anything , I was just kind of

38:56

numb , right , and

38:59

I was like you don't really know what's happened to you , you

39:01

don't even have a conversation about it . Who's

39:03

best ? You can keep going step by step . But

39:07

Michael Matthews , he

39:09

paid me $5,000 in cash After

39:13

every Sunday matinee . I didn't even have a bank

39:16

account . Oh , wow , wow

39:18

. So , my dear friends , my little gospel

39:21

church friends on the road showed me how to do my business

39:23

at the post office . I was like I'm

39:25

gonna get money orders and put them , because that's less cash

39:28

. You paid it

39:30

from the box office . A lot of it was singles , you

39:32

know , paper pads for

39:34

cash , like a stripper

39:36

with a dollar . You look

39:38

like that or like Casaseza . So

39:47

I began my life all over again . I

39:50

was trying to find out where my daughter was . Eventually I got her

39:52

back , you know , and that

39:56

was the beginning . Really , I

39:58

have a great following down in the church world . Yeah

40:01

. I have some gospel albums and

40:03

everything . One thing everybody knows is

40:06

Melville more is saved .

40:08

Yes , we know that Melville

40:10

more is saved , but we also know that you

40:12

are not a singer , but you are a singer

40:14

child . You are , you are

40:17

a singer child the

40:21

first time that you were in a

40:23

recording studio .

40:23

Talk about that . Oh , probably the first time was behind , seeing that backup , behind my mother

40:25

, behind your mother . Wow

40:28

, rational singer . She was recording artist . Uh

40:31

huh , so I don't even

40:34

know this . I

40:36

never sang on any of her hits , but you said the first time in

40:38

a studio , so singing background for you . Uh huh

40:41

, let me start here . Did I

40:43

mention that one of the first people

40:45

I met when I was in the industry was Valerie Simpson

40:48

?

40:48

Yes , you did Okay .

40:51

Well , she ushered me into recording studios

40:53

for the first time as a professional singer

40:55

.

40:56

Wow , did you feel that you were ready at that

40:58

time ?

40:59

Absolutely , I had

41:01

taught people how to do that . Yes

41:04

, I was a real teacher and you know , music

41:07

was a centerpiece of our family . So , absolutely

41:09

, and I saw the music on

41:11

TV . That was a big role model for me and I was a big

41:13

fan of it and I didn't know that was going to

41:15

happen . So

41:17

I was in a relationship with her and I was in

41:20

a relationship with her and I was in a relationship

41:22

with her . And I was in a relationship

41:24

with her and that was a big part of my

41:26

life .

41:28

But one of the recording sessions turned into going up for Well

41:31

presentation wasn't really an audition for my first Broadway

41:33

show , which was hair Right , but

41:36

I could . I enjoyed backup singing so much . That's

41:41

right , that's what it was

41:43

, but

41:46

I'm glad that you emerged

41:49

from being a background singer to being

41:51

the iconic Lee Melbourmore

41:53

singer that we know today , because

41:55

the songs that you have

41:57

put out into the universe are

42:00

amazing . One of my favorite all-time

42:02

songs is with I'm going to do it with Freddie Jackson

42:04

. Talk

42:06

another iconic singer

42:09

, not a singer . Talk about working

42:11

with the legendary Freddie Jackson .

42:14

Well , once again , my husband my ex-husband

42:17

was our manager

42:19

and he had formed a relationship

42:21

with Kashif . Kashif

42:24

knew all these songwriters and

42:27

performers and producers and

42:29

among them was Paul Lawrence

42:31

and Kashif , and one of

42:33

them was also Freddie Jackson , and

42:36

so on recording sessions

42:39

Freddie used to sing some backup

42:41

and I heard that voice

42:43

. I said , ooh , look there , so

42:45

maybe he should come out on the road with me as a backup

42:47

singer . Then when we got on the road , I

42:49

would feature him in the middle of my show and

42:52

the first song he sang was Good Morning , Hardix . I

42:54

said , OK , After I heard him sing that

42:57

everybody just went cuckoo for

42:59

cuckoo pops .

43:02

I didn't know that he started backup with you

43:04

.

43:05

Yeah . So then I would say to the audience

43:07

I would say , ok , before I bring

43:09

him out here , I'm going to tell

43:11

you who he is and he's going to be a star

43:13

, because I know once he starts singing you're not

43:15

going to hear nothing because you're going to be hollering

43:17

and hooping all over , right ? And so that's how I introduced

43:20

Freddie , and my then

43:22

husband and our company got in his

43:24

first recording situation I think

43:26

it was with Capitol Records and launched

43:29

him as a star , and then I became

43:31

his mentor .

43:33

Nice . You know I'm going

43:35

to frame this because I want people

43:37

to really understand what you just

43:39

said , because having social capital

43:42

is so , so important . Having

43:44

a strong network of people with

43:46

similar interests so they can

43:48

take you to the next step is so important Because

43:50

other nationalities

43:53

they do it . They pull up

43:55

their nieces , nephews , brothers , sisters

43:57

, aunts , uncles , and we have to make

43:59

sure that we are surrounded by the right type of people

44:02

with similar interests to take

44:04

us where we need to go , because we

44:06

are already enough so we

44:08

can show up in spaces .

44:12

But you have to tell African-American

44:15

people that , especially younger people , because

44:17

they don't realize that the family is

44:19

still broken . All the other nationalities

44:22

didn't come here as slaves . They didn't have their

44:24

family line broken , so they know to pass

44:26

it on or pass it around . So we

44:28

have to remind each other . We are family

44:30

now We've been mended and

44:33

this is who we are and what we are and what we have

44:35

, so that we can have

44:37

a network , first of all , and so

44:39

that we can have a future .

44:41

Yes , yes . Well , talking about

44:43

the future or this current space

44:45

of music , are there any

44:47

current artists that you listen to and

44:49

you like ?

44:52

I don't have time to listen to people who I'm so busy doing my

44:54

stuff . But there's so much

44:56

talent it is ridiculous

44:58

. Yeah , yeah , it's

45:00

a lot . It's marvelous

45:03

and we're being taught

45:05

we should be in charge of ourselves in our business

45:07

, and business starts when

45:10

you're five years old .

45:12

How , at five years old , talk about that

45:14

.

45:16

Get a paper route or clean the house and you get paid

45:18

by your parents .

45:19

OK , I remember when my daughter was

45:21

three and I told her

45:23

I don't care what you do , you better sing a song

45:25

, tap dance , write a book , it's

45:27

something . But I want you to own

45:30

and lead your future . We

45:33

know to do that now , so yes , yes

45:36

, yes , yes , oh my gosh , but you know

45:38

, fast forward . You

45:41

just released your 33rd

45:43

album titled Imagine

45:46

and

45:49

your daughter she is the one

45:51

who brought the idea to you to reinvent

45:54

yourself . Sometimes

45:56

, when you reinvent yourself , there's

45:58

a little fear . Were you fearful

46:01

of reinventing yourself and

46:03

creating new music

46:05

? I ?

46:06

don't think that's what's there . I think what's there is

46:08

ignorance , because

46:11

you ain't got a mirror , you can't even see yourself . You

46:15

need to have other people's perspective and

46:17

God tells you I'm doing something new , so you need

46:19

to know what they feel . But you

46:21

wouldn't even know to do that . Someone

46:24

says , ma , listen to this . I

46:28

said , okay , yes , great , wonderful , so I think you

46:30

should do that . You think I should do that

46:32

. Of course , she's been raised with

46:34

us in the industry . She's

46:38

done a lot of different things , but she's never worked

46:40

with me as a

46:42

record executive person in this , so

46:44

I don't really know what she knows . She's

46:47

just been my baby .

46:49

Right . So how was it working with your daughter

46:51

? Incredible .

46:53

I said wow , you see me singing

46:55

this . That's

46:57

how it is . She's seen beauties

47:00

and strengths and stuff that I have , no cold that I have

47:02

, just like I see her . And

47:05

then of course she's a very what can

47:07

I say ? Maybe she's like me , I don't know . She's

47:11

a very caring

47:13

and just

47:16

visionary too . But you

47:20

have to kind of pull it out of her . She

47:22

doesn't put her opinion on you or anything , and

47:24

maybe she's respectful of adults so

47:28

she would come in . So you know , she's

47:30

seen me do something that she don't even like . She

47:33

mustn't want to like that one , but she would never . She would never

47:36

a front meal cost me or hurt me in

47:38

any way . And so

47:40

when she tells me something , not

47:43

only do I know that she's thought it through , but

47:46

she loves me so much she don't want

47:48

to see me hurt by something and she

47:51

would try to be smart about it as possible , not

47:53

so she could prove to me that she's smart , but

47:56

so that when I heard it I

47:58

could use my expertise and we could

48:00

talk about it and see what

48:03

each other here and see . I

48:06

think it's fabulous , it's a whole

48:08

new . I mean , if I could

48:10

have this relationship with somebody I knew that I brought

48:12

and we could be as open with each other and

48:15

start on such a caring level

48:17

. I don't think there would be any fear , because

48:21

she's , you know , told me everything she thought

48:24

about how each song

48:26

should be done , and how it's going to be paid

48:28

for , and how I'm going to do this and how I'm going

48:30

to go on with my own life and how she's going to

48:32

do her life . This is not even a job . That's what she wanted

48:34

to throw my way and I'm like , wait

48:36

a minute . She

48:38

doesn't really know what her

48:40

profession is , I mean to call

48:42

it . So she

48:44

puts this together . I'm so

48:46

okay , well , you're the executive producer , that's what you call

48:49

it .

48:49

Right , right , right . But

48:52

did you , did you allow her to really lead

48:55

that entire experience and

48:57

you became the learner ?

48:59

Yes , First

49:01

of all , because I didn't depend on it for anything

49:04

. Everything that I

49:06

do is still intact , so if I don't feel like doing it , something

49:08

happens and she walks away . There's no

49:10

risk , right ? So

49:13

everything that we're doing is because we

49:15

thought about it . Yeah , we want to do it each step of the way

49:17

.

49:17

Right , right , I like

49:20

that , I like that , but I want to go back

49:22

to relationships for

49:24

a moment . You're still married .

49:26

No , but we're still

49:29

a family . That's something God creates , so okay

49:32

.

49:33

Navigating relationships as

49:35

an older woman ? Yes , Okay

49:37

.

49:37

Well , as a person in the world , sometimes you don't

49:39

agree with different people , but you have something

49:42

that you should work with or work on .

49:45

So , at your age , what is a

49:47

non-negotiable when it comes to

49:49

relationships with men ?

49:52

I don't know because I don't have none .

49:55

Me either Melba Me , either . I

50:03

thought you was going to tell me something . I'm trying . Are

50:09

you hoping that you'll marry again ?

50:12

I have no clue Really

50:14

. No , because I'm . I don't . I

50:16

mean , I've been lonely

50:18

, but I'm not lonely . I think even if

50:20

you're with somebody , you're going to be lonely .

50:23

Well , I wouldn't say that . I would say

50:25

you're just not alone . There's

50:29

a difference between being lonely and being alone

50:31

.

50:31

I know I'm not just describing

50:34

it properly and

50:36

my

50:39

daughter's not married , but I want that for her

50:42

. I want her to have that experience in that relationship

50:44

, Even if you

50:46

don't have children . I would like her to have that

50:49

experience .

50:50

But let's say a man came your way

50:52

, that kind of loneliness .

50:53

I know that's , that's different .

50:54

Yeah , that's right . But let's

50:56

just assume a man did come your way and he was saying all

50:58

the right things and he just presented

51:01

well and he asked you

51:03

for your hand in marriage , would

51:05

you ?

51:05

be open If he said all the right things

51:07

, because I would

51:09

know . But what I

51:11

thought and how I lived , if that was good or

51:13

not , sure I would . Yeah , I don't have anything

51:16

against it . I

51:18

don't have experience to draw from .

51:21

I hate you . I'm trying to keep hope alive

51:24

too . And

51:27

my parents ? They were married for

51:29

what ? 50 years . So

51:32

I use that , you know , as a testimony that

51:34

you know love is definitely possible . I'm still

51:36

open to it . But I look at you know

51:38

older women such as yourself , and

51:41

I'd , like I said , I'm a perpetual learner

51:43

and whatever advice you can give me

51:45

a space , especially in this dating space , because

51:48

it's crazy .

51:51

If you're going to date , that's another whole set of

51:53

parameters . It means

51:55

you're only putting yourself in a position of a

51:57

possibility of sharing a life

51:59

with something you're considering . That , sure

52:04

, you have to know that Maybe

52:07

you have certain feelings and you haven't really organized

52:09

it yet , but if that's what you're really

52:11

thinking , you want to do , I think you should

52:13

think about it and see what

52:16

would your parameters be .

52:17

And I couldn't tell you that you should do

52:20

that , yeah , I've thought about those things

52:22

at this age

52:24

. The

52:27

number of eligible men it's very

52:29

limited .

52:30

That's always the case , but also these are

52:32

different times and

52:35

the family structure is different , so

52:38

I want to close the door .

52:40

No , I'm definitely , you know , embracing

52:42

the possibilities and saying if it comes my

52:44

way , I'm open to it and

52:47

, as you mentioned before , I'm ready .

52:51

When you say you're ready , you have to think about what

52:53

is the family structure these days and who are

52:55

you potentially

52:58

partnering with and what is their idea of what

53:00

that is ?

53:02

Yeah , and I know I envision something

53:04

very non-traditional and

53:07

it's going to take someone who agrees

53:10

with being non-traditional . And what I mean

53:12

by non-traditional ? I don't mean like

53:14

the Jada and Will Smith

53:17

type of it all , not that .

53:19

I don't know what they do , so tell me .

53:22

Well , they have an open marriage .

53:24

Oh , I remember what that was no .

53:28

And Jada Pinkett Smith is now . You

53:30

know she released a tell old book and she's saying that

53:32

her and Will Smith have been separated

53:34

since 2016 .

53:36

That's not a relationship , that's a

53:38

movie for publicity .

53:41

I said the same thing because she has a new

53:43

book coming out and all of these secrets

53:45

that she's dropping . I'm like whoever her publicist

53:47

is , they are just trying to generate

53:49

sales , that's it .

53:51

No , now

53:55

we're talking about relationships . Yeah

53:57

, yeah . I

53:59

think that the way the society

54:01

has been splintered and divided and

54:03

going through so many transitions

54:06

and transformations , you would have to

54:08

sit down over some time and

54:10

assess what you really believe

54:13

in right now and what you think a man

54:15

should should if he

54:17

were to , you know

54:19

, appealing to you . Just

54:22

kind of think those three and then consult some different people

54:24

who are really in that age range and

54:28

have some experiences to draw on about how things are

54:30

going now . So it's

54:32

not just your opinion , your feeling . Yeah

54:35

, I'm going to take that advice and

54:37

pursue that and see what's going on around you , see what

54:39

it's made up of now . I think I've done that and that's why

54:42

I'm succeeding at what I'm doing . Right

54:44

, right .

54:47

I'm going to lean into that and I'm going to try

54:49

it . I'm definitely going to try

54:51

it .

54:52

I think the family and relationships

54:54

are so wonderful

54:56

they are even with all the terrible things that can happen

54:58

. I do yeah , that's

55:01

so true I have a relationship

55:03

with my ex-husband because

55:06

I'm a Christian and he's

55:08

become saved on his own , and

55:11

so now , whatever we bring to the table , it

55:14

has to meet God's opinion

55:17

, right ? And we

55:19

go like this because I said , uh-uh , no

55:22

, I don't belong to you , no

55:24

more , I'm not interested in your opinions

55:26

. What did God say ?

55:31

How do you use that Uh-uh , uh-uh

55:33

what ?

55:34

did God say ? I know

55:36

what God said now . So when you tell me

55:38

something , I don't know if that's your opinion or not

55:40

.

55:40

Right , right , I love

55:43

it , I love it , and that's the wisdom that

55:45

I aspire to achieve .

55:47

Yes , yes , and those are things you can kind of say , you

55:50

can question and say , oh well , where am I

55:52

? You got to navigate where you are . You got to find

55:54

out where , you got to find out who you are

55:56

now .

55:57

Yeah , yeah , so

55:59

true , and that's all part of it , you know , so

56:01

true . Do you and your daughter sit

56:04

down and talk about relationships ? Absolutely

56:07

yeah . My daughter and I redo

56:09

as well . My daughter's 28 . How old is your daughter

56:11

? She's 40 . Really

56:13

, wow

56:15

, yeah , so you two are having real authentic

56:18

, transparent type of conversations

56:20

.

56:21

Yeah , Because

56:23

we've been damaged so much

56:26

, and so has my ex-husband . Probably the most

56:28

damage he did was to himself

56:30

. Now it's our job to help

56:32

him mend . Yeah , we could only

56:34

think like that because we were born again Christians

56:37

. All

56:40

the little different , very

56:42

subtle details that go into that

56:45

, and loving the way God says

56:47

you're supposed to love .

56:49

Yes , when you wake

56:51

up , do you start each morning with a prayer

56:53

?

56:54

No , a whole series of prayers

56:56

before I open my eyes

56:58

and the ministers come on . I

57:00

just put the

57:03

tape record on because in case I fall asleep

57:05

. And

57:07

then I got some people , because I'm Catholic and

57:09

we invoke our angels . I know

57:11

who they are the servants . The servants , the thrones , the

57:14

dominions . I know who they are . Bring

57:17

them in there first . And now

57:19

I'm getting to the point where they're starting to

57:21

blossom and expand into things , not to

57:23

just that basic prayer , but you've got to grow

57:25

in knowledge and wisdom and everything and the things of

57:27

God . So there is

57:29

, it's a tailor made for you , but

57:31

they're still my gods , I remember , because you can't see them

57:33

or touch them or anything . Right , that's

57:36

the real reality that we have to conform

57:39

to . Yeah . Yeah

57:41

, that's , that's my what do

57:44

you call it ? My job , my routine and

57:46

how I spend the first several

57:48

hours of

57:51

beginning of my day . Yeah , so

57:53

that's why I still have a career , but

57:57

that's my job .

57:59

Right , Right , I

58:01

love it . You know , I started this day as well

58:03

. Once I got into the office , I closed

58:05

my door and I told my assistant . I said

58:07

you know what ? We're going to turn on some gospel music

58:09

and we're going to praise him

58:12

for as long as it takes and

58:14

then we're going to start our day

58:17

.

58:18

First of all , then you two are on one accord Go ahead

58:20

, yeah .

58:21

Yeah , we are on one accord . And

58:23

like I pray over

58:25

my space , my father , he's also a

58:27

chaplain . My mother God rest

58:29

her soul she was a deaconess

58:32

. So all of that

58:34

spirituality , you

58:37

know , they've instilled it in me

58:39

.

58:39

So now it is my responsibility

58:41

to share it with the world

58:43

and you know that it's all of our

58:45

responsibility . We don't know it . We're

58:47

strict of our very security

58:50

. Yeah , yeah . Much less

58:52

our responsibility .

58:53

Yes , yes , so

58:55

I'm assuming that you go to church every

58:57

Sunday ?

58:58

No , I go every day . Oh , we're

59:01

Catholic .

59:02

Oh , yeah , yeah , yeah . I in church all the time and

59:07

standing up and standing down every five minutes

59:09

.

59:10

I take a union , I go to confession

59:13

.

59:17

Oh my , are you a deaconess or

59:19

no ?

59:20

Well , you're in the Catholic church , so they don't

59:22

have no , they have them , but I

59:24

travel , so I can't do that . Okay

59:27

, I have to be . You know

59:29

, minister , on the road . Right , I'm

59:31

what you call an apostle with sent .

59:34

I hear you . I hear you . So

59:36

you know , I feel that a

59:39

lot of my success is attributed to because I made

59:41

a promise to God I will never

59:43

deny

59:45

your name , Whatever he said right , if

59:47

you acknowledge me , I'll acknowledge you .

59:49

So you can't , you can't lose . Yes

59:51

.

59:52

Yes , yes . So this is why you know , especially

59:54

coming from a school system now

59:56

involved in media , these

59:58

type of conversations aren't always welcomed

1:00:01

. But I like to spark the conversations

1:00:03

just to see am I in the space

1:00:06

of like minded individuals Like

1:00:08

you ?

1:00:08

need to find out where you are yes

1:00:10

, because

1:00:13

it's war .

1:00:15

Yes , it is , it is

1:00:17

. I feel the

1:00:20

spiritual warfare on a daily

1:00:22

basis and this is why

1:00:25

, at the end of every day , I

1:00:27

have to do a therapy , self reflection

1:00:29

walk where I'm talking to God . Sometimes

1:00:31

I don't even talk , I just listen and say , okay

1:00:33

, I'm just , I'm just listening to you , god

1:00:35

, I'm here

1:00:37

, I'm ready . So I

1:00:40

every night , faithfully . That's

1:00:42

how I end my day . You sound ?

1:00:44

kind of radical .

1:00:45

I am . I

1:00:48

am you know , I was talking to my daughter

1:00:50

accepted

1:00:53

that I am a disruptor . Okay

1:00:56

, I

1:00:59

believe that that's what God purposed me to

1:01:01

do to disrupt

1:01:03

spaces that aren't in alignment

1:01:06

with .

1:01:07

This is a season and we can't accept it . That's

1:01:10

the first denomination of Christianity , is

1:01:12

the one that Jesus started . That's why there's all

1:01:14

these physical reminders of what he did in

1:01:16

Israel and , of course , israel

1:01:19

was the synagogue first

1:01:21

. But

1:01:23

I forgot what I'm gonna say . But I

1:01:27

forgot what I was gonna say .

1:01:27

I'm sorry , it's okay , it's okay , but

1:01:29

you know switching topics . I

1:01:32

was so pleased to see

1:01:34

you getting your flowers when you

1:01:36

received a star on the Hollywood

1:01:39

Walk of Fame , and

1:01:41

I was even more pleased

1:01:43

to know that Cat Williams had a lot

1:01:45

to do with that . Talk about that .

1:01:51

The whole process was very amazing . And then

1:01:53

, of course , let's talk about Cat Williams . I

1:01:56

met him for the first time there at the presentation

1:01:58

and I really didn't

1:02:00

know what to say to him . Of course , I said thank

1:02:03

you , all that , but I wanted to see him . Who is this

1:02:05

? What is this ? You know what

1:02:07

he is . He's like a Holy Ghost person

1:02:09

. That's what he is .

1:02:12

And a lot of people wouldn't even think that .

1:02:14

No , he won't let you know that , he doesn't . You

1:02:17

know , I found out and everything

1:02:19

and we were very unstrictly , you

1:02:21

know , come in and not to say a lot about it . Well

1:02:23

, especially at first . Then

1:02:25

at a certain point , my partner , ron Richardson

1:02:28

, put it out on our site once

1:02:30

. He said it was okay , because we wanted

1:02:32

to say thank you and we wanted to

1:02:34

get to know Mr Williams , because

1:02:38

this is a very , very , very , very , very very

1:02:40

special person who would

1:02:43

do things like this , and apparently

1:02:46

he does it all the time . Yeah , he

1:02:48

does , he does

1:02:50

. It's

1:02:52

not that I'm trying to get to be bosom buddies

1:02:54

with him , but I was really curious

1:02:57

. I said oh gee , you know what

1:02:59

is this and you know . All my life

1:03:01

and all my career , with all the traumas I've

1:03:03

had , I've had people come to my aid and

1:03:05

help me and do things . I was saying that I went

1:03:08

out on the road to my

1:03:10

first class will play with Michael Matthews

1:03:12

and at the time

1:03:14

that I'd happened I was already homeless . I

1:03:16

lost my daughter and everything that . And

1:03:19

this gentleman , michael , at

1:03:22

the end of the first week paid

1:03:25

me $5,000 in cash , and I didn't even have

1:03:27

a bank account , right ? So

1:03:30

I noticed people like that , yeah

1:03:32

.

1:03:33

Yeah there are

1:03:35

, you know , unsung heroes and angels

1:03:38

out there that will step

1:03:40

in and provide when

1:03:43

we need it the most . So you

1:03:45

didn't even reach out to cat Williams to ask

1:03:47

him for his help . He did that on his own .

1:03:49

I think my partner Ron discovered

1:03:55

him . I knew who he was and found him .

1:03:57

So talk about that day when you

1:04:00

receive the star

1:04:02

on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and you have

1:04:04

people speaking about

1:04:06

all of your amazing work

1:04:09

in the entertainment industry

1:04:11

. I saw a Loonel she spoke on behalf

1:04:13

of . I

1:04:16

love Loonel , love her .

1:04:20

She's another one , yeah , and

1:04:23

with that potty mouth , you'd never know it .

1:04:28

I live for a good curse word , Miss Mool . I'm

1:04:30

sorry .

1:04:33

Oh my God , she

1:04:36

called me a few days before it was supposed to happen

1:04:39

and just gave me some wonderful

1:04:41

and encouraging words and then

1:04:44

we just it was short , but it was personal

1:04:46

, they're just , once again , show you the kind

1:04:48

of person she is . I

1:04:51

said , well , where did I get these kind of friends from

1:04:53

? Wow , you

1:04:56

think of it that way . But then you say once

1:04:58

again , well , who is she ? What

1:05:00

kind of a person is she ? You know , but I'm getting

1:05:02

to see how she is , you know , hilarious

1:05:06

and you know , partier

1:05:08

and a good , good

1:05:10

, good , whole person . Yeah

1:05:12

.

1:05:13

Yeah , but you know , I

1:05:15

think that you've given the world so

1:05:17

much that what you put

1:05:19

out in the world , the universe will give

1:05:22

you back in return , and

1:05:24

I think that this is just the way of the universe

1:05:27

saying that we see you , we appreciate

1:05:29

all of the amazing things that you've given to us

1:05:31

. So people are now given to

1:05:33

you and I'm so glad to see this happening

1:05:36

because , as you mentioned , you know , you lost

1:05:38

it all your money , your

1:05:40

daughter , fighting your way

1:05:42

back and to see you in the space

1:05:44

. I love a great comeback story

1:05:47

and you are a definite testimony

1:05:49

of a great comeback story

1:05:51

. So talk about coming back . You

1:05:54

are going to release . I

1:05:56

think they're going to do the remake of the Imitation

1:05:58

of Life and you're going to be in it .

1:06:01

That's going to be . That's quite a ways down

1:06:03

the road , but , yes , that's going to happen . Yes .

1:06:05

So they haven't started any type of production

1:06:07

yet .

1:06:07

No , that's not going to be for a while . They have some other

1:06:10

things that they have to do first . That'll be down

1:06:12

the road , but I will do that . I'll be doing it , oh but it's a

1:06:14

definite . Yes .

1:06:16

That's also iconic . I know

1:06:18

about this classic film , but a

1:06:20

lot of you know this newer generation they

1:06:22

don't . So I'm glad

1:06:25

to see that they're going to do a remake

1:06:27

of it , but why ? Why are they doing

1:06:29

this , do you know ? I ?

1:06:30

think it's in the ethos once again , because we

1:06:32

want to preserve our , our

1:06:35

heritage as holy servants

1:06:37

. Yeah . Yeah

1:06:40

, because I looked at the credits and how

1:06:43

the packaging was of the CD

1:06:45

and how they had to do it back

1:06:47

in the 40s I think that's when it was first done

1:06:49

. It was a white

1:06:52

, white , white , white , white , white society . So

1:06:55

somebody had to break through and kind of coach , and

1:06:57

how you present this story Because

1:07:01

the maid , she's

1:07:03

the star of it . So you couldn't say that Right

1:07:06

, right . And

1:07:08

now , all these years later , we

1:07:11

haven't lost interest in it and that's a story that

1:07:14

again will

1:07:16

be received so well because we've

1:07:20

come so far . Now we want to look back and reminisce

1:07:23

, right Well

1:07:25

, our heroism really .

1:07:27

Mm , hmm , so you

1:07:29

can reminisce when you go back to Newark

1:07:31

, new Jersey , where you attended

1:07:33

high school and they renamed

1:07:36

the street after

1:07:38

you . How amazing

1:07:40

is that . Do you go back to

1:07:42

Newark , new Jersey , and visit too often

1:07:44

?

1:07:46

I do really a lot of community service

1:07:48

there for the purpose of keeping some contacts

1:07:51

there , because that's where I really had

1:07:53

family or where my family was

1:07:55

mended and I found

1:07:57

music , that I was , that I was a musician

1:07:59

and got my education and

1:08:01

grew to be a person

1:08:04

that could be in the right place at the right time to get

1:08:06

an acting role , you know , or

1:08:08

to have such good training that I can run into

1:08:10

somebody like Valerie Simpson and she said here's

1:08:12

my number , you read music . Yeah

1:08:14

, that's what all that all happened

1:08:17

in Newark . So I want to keep

1:08:19

my contacts there and so my

1:08:21

basic roots there are

1:08:23

, with the church and community service there .

1:08:25

Yeah , Nice , Nice . I

1:08:27

love to hear when people give back . I think

1:08:30

it's everyone's responsibility to

1:08:32

give back to this world in some

1:08:34

way , big or small . Just

1:08:37

give back to to your community . We've

1:08:40

talked about some of the amazing things

1:08:43

that you've contributed to this world . Unpack

1:08:46

some of your milestones

1:08:48

and pivotal moments , but

1:08:50

what legacy do you intentionally

1:08:52

want to leave this world with ? That's

1:08:55

the one give back to give back

1:08:57

.

1:08:58

Hmm , I mean from the beginning , you

1:09:01

teach your children to do community service

1:09:03

, to volunteer stuff .

1:09:05

I love it . I love it you don't know .

1:09:07

Sometimes in the beginning you don't even know what your gifts are . But

1:09:10

still , if you're first gifted to be

1:09:12

a giver , give yourself .

1:09:14

Yes , yes , oh

1:09:16

my gosh , what are your hobbies ? I just want to know

1:09:18

, because you look amazing Every time I see you . You

1:09:20

are impeccably dressed . What are

1:09:22

your hobbies ? Working out

1:09:24

, really , you work

1:09:26

out Every day . Yeah

1:09:30

, see , I feel bad about myself because

1:09:32

I'm still trying to find the time

1:09:36

, but you really want to . Do you find the time ? So

1:09:38

that's not an excuse .

1:09:40

Well , right now you could call it rehab . Okay

1:09:43

, you start

1:09:45

early enough , it can be a hobby . Then you should

1:09:48

be , you know , working to your life . So the routine

1:09:50

, so that maintains your well

1:09:52

being .

1:09:53

True , true . So , besides

1:09:55

exercising , what else do you like to do ?

1:09:59

I don't really have hobbies yet . I think after I reach

1:10:01

my next level here and I get the

1:10:03

rest of my team in terms of being

1:10:06

an executive producer of some of the

1:10:08

projects that I'm going to do , I'm

1:10:11

going to travel a little bit Maybe . I used to like

1:10:13

to swim . I don't have time to do that anymore . I used

1:10:16

to want to like to maybe skydive a little

1:10:18

bit or something . I

1:10:20

don't know . I want to find out , because I

1:10:22

haven't had time to think about it .

1:10:25

I get you . Yeah , I'm in this space

1:10:27

for the past two years of doing things that I

1:10:29

would have normally not done . I

1:10:32

don't call it the pandemic . I call it the pandemic

1:10:34

During the pandemic

1:10:37

. Unfortunately , I

1:10:39

lost my mom , and

1:10:41

what it taught me was to

1:10:44

cherish each

1:10:46

and every single moment , to

1:10:48

step outside my comfort

1:10:50

zone , to make every

1:10:52

single moment count . So

1:10:54

that's my advice to you , ms

1:10:57

Moore

1:10:59

Step into that new phase and do

1:11:01

things that you would have normally not

1:11:04

have done , and just try it out .

1:11:06

I agree , it's a wonderful , wonderful

1:11:08

world and it's to be explored

1:11:10

. And time , even

1:11:14

if you live to be 120 years old , it flies .

1:11:16

Yes , yes , it sure does . I

1:11:19

know every day my daughter's like I hope

1:11:21

this day goes by fast and I'm at this point

1:11:23

where I'm just like I want to cherish every

1:11:26

single second Second . I

1:11:28

don't , I don't want to think about

1:11:31

tomorrow , because I want to live in

1:11:33

right now and just cherish that

1:11:35

, because this second it's gone

1:11:37

, this second right here is gone . This

1:11:39

second it's gone . So I just want to make

1:11:41

it count .

1:11:43

Sometimes I think , oh my God , I'm falling asleep

1:11:45

, but I want to stay awake just a little bit longer

1:11:47

. I love this story

1:11:49

.

1:11:50

I go through that every night too . Every night

1:11:52

I'm like go to bed , son , okay

1:11:54

.

1:11:55

You gotta go to sleep because you kind of get up and

1:11:58

be ready for tomorrow . But I'm gonna

1:12:00

finish today yet .

1:12:02

Yes , yes , yes , yes . So

1:12:04

, ms Moore , thank you so much for

1:12:06

this conversation . I am so full

1:12:08

, I am so honored . You

1:12:11

gave me some next steps to think about

1:12:13

and I'm definitely going to tap into

1:12:15

your conversation and do . Thank

1:12:17

you so much .

1:12:19

Thank you , I'm gonna take your advice too

1:12:21

. When

1:12:23

I get a month , some moments . Now I'm gonna make

1:12:25

a margin . No , but what would you like

1:12:27

to do for a hobby when you get a chance ? Yeah

1:12:31

, because those moments to plan are

1:12:33

going to .

1:12:34

Yeah , I went sparkling for the first

1:12:37

time in St Thomas .

1:12:39

I like to do that . Okay , yeah , go ahead .

1:12:41

It was scary , but I challenged myself to

1:12:44

just and . I swim . But

1:12:46

I said , you know , I got to try it because

1:12:49

I would hate to if

1:12:51

something would have happened to me and I can no longer walk

1:12:53

or talk to say I missed that opportunity

1:12:56

to do something new .

1:12:58

And you just reminded me I used to snorkel . Let

1:13:00

me go back into some things I used to do .

1:13:02

Yeah , yeah , because you look

1:13:04

good , Malva , you look good .

1:13:08

I'm gonna get somebody to see me .

1:13:11

Look good . You really really

1:13:13

do . But once again , continue

1:13:15

blessings , miss Moore . Thank you

1:13:17

for blessing my show and

1:13:20

I'll stay in touch and continue

1:13:22

following you on social media . Please

1:13:25

do Take care , love , bye

1:13:27

, bye , oh

1:13:30

gee . So the

1:13:32

iconic , the legendary Miss

1:13:36

Melba Moore just talking

1:13:38

about things , her life

1:13:40

, losing it all , the

1:13:43

comeback story , the

1:13:46

husband , the ex husband who

1:13:49

forged the divorce papers . She

1:13:52

lost her daughter , but then

1:13:54

her 33rd album . The daughter led

1:13:56

the new album and

1:13:58

allowed Miss Moore to step into a new space

1:14:00

, her social

1:14:03

capital of iconic

1:14:05

figures in history

1:14:07

, such as Freddie Jackson

1:14:09

, diana Ross , the queen

1:14:12

, valerie

1:14:15

Simpson , who's also been on the show , oprah

1:14:18

Winfrey , mary J Blige

1:14:20

, clifton Davis

1:14:23

, pastor Shirley

1:14:25

Caesar . Who else is she named ? Who

1:14:27

didn't she name Frank Sinatra

1:14:29

? When

1:14:32

you are surrounded by greatness , there

1:14:36

is no other excuse but to

1:14:39

be great . Hence

1:14:41

, miss Melba Moore , I

1:14:43

really enjoyed that conversation and I hope

1:14:46

that you enjoyed it too . Make

1:14:48

sure that you share this conversation with

1:14:51

your friends , your family . If

1:14:54

you're older , find people

1:14:57

that are younger than you and share this conversation

1:14:59

with them too . We

1:15:02

can't figure out where

1:15:04

we're going if we can't understand

1:15:07

where we come from . And when she

1:15:09

mentioned that our

1:15:11

experience is sort of like a grassroots . We

1:15:14

are it , we are enough . We come from

1:15:16

. We come from

1:15:18

struggle and over

1:15:21

the years , over the decades , we

1:15:24

have kept one foot in front of the other to

1:15:28

navigate through the struggles to come

1:15:31

out successful . On the other side , we

1:15:34

have it in us . So

1:15:36

let this conversation be a reminder

1:15:39

that you have

1:15:41

everything that you need already

1:15:44

and we are able to be successful . This

1:15:47

has been another amazing edition of

1:15:50

Sign your Own Air . Make sure you subscribe

1:15:52

. See you just now . Bye

1:15:54

.