MUST SEE TV: UNSUNG

So finally I got TV One in my apartment, and got to watch the some of the new installments of Unsung, which feature the stories of lesser-known Black musicians. The first season of this show featured specials on Donny Hathaway, The Clark Sisters, DeBarge, and Phylliss Hyman, and now its back for a second season and so far pieces about Minnie Riperton, Melba Moore, and, Shalamar have been shown (the latter two of which i just saw).

The Melba Moore episode was pretty good. She claims she got her start sing back-up for Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick (which I find hard to believe), and lived with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson in New York during the late 60's (wouldn't that famous song-writing duo have been in Detroit?). She got her big break starring in the popular musical "Hair", followed by a lead role in the Ossie Davis penned musical ,"Purlie," where she became the second African-American to win the Tony Award for Best Actress. On another note, she also prides the musical for bringing Blacks to Broadway. After all of this success and many more accomplishments, the entertainers life took a turn for the worse. She was basically used by her business partner/husband, and served time for defrauding the state because she needed welfare to get by. Her story really dove deep and also tried to explain why this talented singer did not experience the fame or musical acclaim of soul legends like a Dionne, Gladys, or Aretha.

Here is a performance of her singing "I Got Love":



I would write about Shalamar but their story just talked about accomplishments more so than any deep issues except for the group splitting which led to successful solo careers for Jody Watley and Howard Hewitt. One accomplishment to note is the fact that Shalamar was the second Black act to be played on MTV after Michael Jackson.

Here is a clip of the group in their early days: