I grew up listening to a lot of music. Some of my earliest memories are of listening to Bing Crosby or Nat 'King' Cole Christmas records. I have fond memories of sitting in the backseat of my father's maroon Pontiac, windows open as he drove to drop me off at cheerleading practice, listening to the classic rock station spinning The Who and Queen. I always talk about digging through my older sister's cassette tapes, looking for the latest mix of Hip-Hop dubbed from the radio. Most of all, my mother instilled in me this deeply sincere love for the Motown Sound. I don't even recall when or how it came about, I just know these records have always been near and dear to my heart.
And so, when I became aware that Maxine Powell, Motown's artist development queen, would be speaking at NYU on Friday night, I knew I had to be there. Maybe even in the front row. I RSVP'd and talked my 'networking buddy' into going, only to have her cancel on me later. I went anyway.
Sitting there, right of center, second row, I anxiously awaited Maxine Powell to take the stage, and to take me to another time and place. With the help of the interviewer, she appeared on stage, in a fabulously royal looking deep purple suit, complete with fur collar. She wore a black bowler hat and when she took her seat, she crossed one black heeled foot over the other. As she spoke, I noticed her red nail polish and a beautiful rhinestone, maybe even diamond, encrusted pinky ring. I should mention the woman is 90!
I learned that Ms. Powell taught Marvin Gaye how to sing with his eyes open, and taught the Supremes how to be graceful and how to properly enter a room. How did the name 'artist development' come about? "We'll call it what we're setting out to do--developing artists," she said. No biggie.
I lost myself in her words, and for most of the discussion, I felt like she was talking only to me. "Sometimes your dream doesn't happen when you want it to." she said, "Maybe you give it 6 months and it's not working out. But you alter your approach and you keep trying; you'll get there." Filling the conversation with little jokes and spunky remarks, she also said, "Some people will tell you you can't achieve your dreams. You just say under your breath, but I'm going to keep trying until I do."
I spent my Friday night with the woman responsible for giving a segregated country such elegant and graceful images of African American men and women. And something like that just doesn't happen everyday.
Labels: events, motown, new york, out and about
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