#RolandMartinUnfiltered - #RolandMartinUnfiltered celebrates the life and legacy of Supremes co-founder Mary Wilson

Episode Date: February 10, 2021

#RolandMartinUnfiltered celebrates the life and legacy of Supremes co-founder Mary Wilson Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. self. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 ¶¶ ¶¶ Today, folks, we remember the life and legacy of Mary Wilson, the co-founder of the Supremes, Jay Schwartz.

Wilson's longtime friend and publicist said yesterday evening that Wilson passed away suddenly at the age of 76 at her home in Henderson, Nevada. Schwartz says Wilson was a trendsetter who broke down social, racial and gender barriers. She began her career in Detroit in 1959 as a singer in what was then called the Primettes. They went on to become the Supremes, Motown's most successful girl group of the 1960s with 12 number one singles including Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, and Stop in the Name of Love. In 2018, Billboard celebrated the 60th anniversary of Motown with a list of the Hot 100 Top Artists of All Time and listed the Supremes at number 16.

Schwartz said in a statement that Wilson's legacy went beyond singing. She became a best-selling author, motivational speaker, businesswoman, and U.S. cultural ambassador. Wilson was also instrumental in passing the Music Modernization Act in 2018, which aimed to modernize copyright-related issues for new music and audio recordings in the face of new technology like digital streaming, which did not protect music recorded before February 15th, 1972. Wilson is survived by her daughter, son and several grandchildren, sister and a brother. Schwartz says funeral services will be private due to COVID-19 restrictions, but there will be a memorial service later in the year. Joining us right now, folks, to celebrate the life and legacy of Mary Wilson

is Melba Moore and also singer Michelle Williams. Folks, glad to have both of you here. Melba, I want to start with you. Last night, my man D-Nice was spinning. He was spinning last night and playing music, and then someone posted on his Instagram feed that Mary Wilson had died. I immediately jumped on the phone, stopped trying to confirm it, and eventually caught up with Otis Wilson, the last surviving original Temptation,

who confirmed it, and also Eddie LaVert confirmed it as well. So many people obviously were shocked and saddened by the news. Just two days ago, she recorded a video on YouTube talking about releasing new music. Share with our audience just your thoughts and reflections about Mary Wilson. Melba? Mary just made herself a dear friend. She was always trying to get... Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Go ahead. Yes, we can hear you. Go ahead. We can hear you. We got you. Go ahead. Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Go ahead. Yes, we can hear you. Go ahead. We can hear you. We got you. Go ahead. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Go ahead. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. We got you. Go ahead. All right. First of all, thank you. Okay. First of all, hold on one second.

Hold on. Hold on. Control room. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Melba, Melba, one second. Melba, one second. One second. Control room. Stop talking to one second. Melba, one second. Control room. Stop talking to Melba. Melba, I can hear you. The audience can hear you. Go ahead with your comments. Melba, go ahead. Okay. Well, I was just going to say

thank you so much for allowing me to join. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Yes. Hello? Hello? Yes, we can hear you.

All right. Okay, give me one second. Y'all get Melba straight. Let me go to Michelle Williams. Let me go to Michelle Williams. Michelle, can you hear me? I can hear you. All right, Michelle Michelle just your thoughts

you were in obviously a member of one of the most successful girl group of all time and look if you are in a female group everyone gets compared to the Supremes everybody but what an honor you know the Supremes were the blueprint

Motown was the blueprint as well even for how Matthew Knowles runs Music World. You know, and so you see three girls in a group, you think of the Supremes. And to me, that's a dream come true. It is a dream come true. I was looking at some pictures and I ran across a picture in 2015 where we were honoring Smokey Wilson. It was it was something in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of the Music Hall of Fame in Ohio. And Mary Wilson, it was me, Mary Wilson and Avery Sunshine in a picture of her kind of saluting this big picture of the Supremes.

And I looked at that picture today, and I just cherish it. I cherish her. What a pioneer, full of grace and poise. When you talk about, again, the success, success, y'all should be, thank you very much, you should be on two-shot, dear Michelle, please. When you talk about the success and the difficulties out there when you're trying to be established,

look, reality is we live in a male-dominated society. But when you look at what they did, when you look at just, again, the hit after hit, but also how they were able to set a standard. And the reality is, if you're a male group, the standard is the temptations. If you're a female group, the standard are supremes. That's it.

That's it. That's it. And it's kind of like you know and of course that formula is still going on today there are standards and bars that certain artists um they set and if if you can fulfill what the supremes have done i hope destiny's Child did a good job. And guess what? You got Destiny's Child involved to me that really embodied the Supremes and Mary Wilson as a founder. And if I'm not

mistaken, when they disbanded, she was one of the only original members. I don't want to get it wrong. But there was a standard set, and we've got to withhold that standard. And funny enough, like I don't disclose my personal life and everything that I do. But funny enough, I was able to be with Beyonce and Kelly yesterday.

But this is, of course, us not knowing the news of Mary Wilson passing. The group broke up, obviously, when Diana Ross or Mary also was always clear, Diane Ross, when she left the group, they continued. She was a glue that kept them together. And it really wasn't until she released, pretty much she had dropped off the public view for a number of years, but it wasn't until she dropped that book, Dream Girl, where she broke down the story of the Supremes, that that's what really brought her back.

And then she kept performing and she kept singing and a video we're going to play in a little bit later. She talked about the new music. I mean, she was laying out all these plans she had. Just days ago. In February. It was literally three days ago. Just days ago.

And let me tell you something. It is so good to see our legends still going. I don't care if you're 139, still going. Tina Turner, everybody. I want to see them all. I want to see them all. And so to still see Mary Wilson and sometimes I believe running into her in the airport. I feel like so many

artists have run into Mary Wilson in the airport. I know I have. And she was going and she was touring. And something about Mary Wilson, I think what you have to have to stand in an industry, like you said, that was male-dominated, some grit and some no-nonsense. Miss Mary didn't play no games. No, she did not play any games. And, again, so many people are sharing their thoughts and memories of

Mary Wilson and what she meant in their stories. And so, Michelle, we certainly appreciate you joining us. Thank you for having me. You want to do our pose? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. How can we do our pose? Yeah, no, it's a little hard to do. That's right.

I got to turn this way. I got to turn this way. So, like, we do this photo, the prom pose. And for all y'all who don't understand, Michelle and I, we always go at it. She's a big Bears fan, whatever. And I'm being from Houston. And so we go at it constantly. And it's like, if y'all see any of it, we making faces at each other. So we take these photos.

And these people love spreading this photo around like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. He scared her. They feel like it's real. Like, no. They don't understand. We take like five photos. So one where you looking crazy.

I'm looking crazy. Then, of course, one where we're smiling, whatever. So I had to smack the Rick and Smiley people the other day. Who'm looking crazy. Then, of course, one will be smiling or whatever. So, I had to smack the Rick and Smiley people the other day who don't understand. That's why I had to smack them around. So, yeah. So, it's all good. Oh, I get it, which is the whole Omega thing, because

he's an Omega. Okay, got it. Got it. Well, this is not about right? He's an Omega, right? Yeah, he's in that little youth group. Listen, this was about Mary Wilson tonight. My heart goes out to her family and her friends. Roland, thank you again for having me. Now, don't wait too long to have me back.

I'll have you back. I'll call you. I'm here five days a week. Just pick one you want to come on. Okay, let's do it. That's it. Let's do it. All right, we'll do it. Yes, that's just easy. All right, Michelle Woods, I appreciate it. That's it. Let's do it. All right. Yes, let's do it. Easy. All right. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right. We now have got rid of that delay with

Melba Moore. And so let's go to Melba Moore. Melba. Hi, Roland. Can you hear me? Yes, I got you. Go right ahead. What were your thoughts about Mary Wilson? Well, first of all, thank you for inviting me to join the celebration of Mary's life. I know Mary as a very, very well-educated person. I'm a former educator, so I relate to her that way. But the main thing I think is important about people is how they treat people. She was always trying to help me get projects and asking me what was going on and talking to other people about trying to help me just keep my career and my life together. And our paths crossed. Whenever I could go and support her, I did. The last time I saw her was about a year and a half

ago when she was at the Grammy Museum in Newark. There's a new museum in Newark for Grammy Award winners, and she was having an exhibit there, and she looked exquisite. That's very important to us, especially those of us who are old enough to be legends now. We got to look good, okay? Harry was exquisite. But the main thing I have to say about her, well, she's a caring, loving person. Now, she could fuzz you off. I'm not going to say what she might say, but she always loved you and always tried to help you. The thing that you made the point about legends, you made the point about legends and how we revere them and how the public looks up to them. And it's always great for a new generation to actually still experience that.

So if you weren't alive when the Supremes were on top, but then, or in the 70s, but still being able to hear that music and to meet these folks because it is a way to connect with a bygone era. Absolutely. And I think what's happening today, especially during the lockdown, everybody's kind of on the same plane. And so we connect better. Before, there were a few record companies,

and when you got to a certain point, it kind of cut you off and you went to the next demographic. But we're more than a business. We're more than a demographic. We are family. So now I think we're better connecting. Well, but also social media now allows for you to connect directly with your fan base and communicate. And so you're not at the mercy of if someone sent a letter to the record label.

If someone says, hey, I want to reach Melba more, they don't have your phone number. They can hit you on Instagram, hit you on Twitter. And so that changes the whole world. It changes it totally. And so we can connect for ourselves. We don't have to be at the mercy of someone else, but we also are required to learn more about the business. Many times artists will relegate that to someone else or to someone who's an agent or who's an attorney or an accountant. But any entity, if it's a family, if it's a business, whatever it is, there's two sides to one coin. One is whatever the product is, and the other side is the financial aspect. And if you don't know that

part and you give that away to someone else, you've given half of yourself away. But it's a new day right now. Melba Moore, we appreciate you joining us for the tribute to the great Mayor Wilson. Thanks a bunch. And we sure appreciate you being one of our legends as well. Thank you so much for having me. I love you, Mary. I know you in heaven. All right, then. Thank you so very much. Let's I love you, Mary. I know you in heaven. All right, then. Thank you so very much. Let's now go to another legend from Motown, the great Martha Reeves. Martha?

Yeah. Roland Martin, how you doing, darling? I'm happy. How are you, Roland? I am great. It's always good to see you and talk to you. Just as somebody who was there in Motown when it all began, just share with us your thoughts and reflections on Mary Wilson. I'm pleased to talk to you on your on your television. This is a new modern technology to me sitting here with this on a FaceTime. I don't even like the

visual. I mean, I look better. I've been listening to the Divas that you had on prior, and I can only say good things about Mary Wilson. Yes, we're the pioneers of the Motown sound, and yes, we were discovered together and trained together by the professionals that Barry Gordy Jr. hired. We're all a product of a man's dream who wanted to make the sound of young America. And he wanted to develop a group of people who could be socially accepted across the United States and all over the world during the times when there was segregation and there were places where we weren't allowed the use of the restrooms or could stay in hotels. Our first Motown Review, Mary Wilson and I were paired. By that, I mean they separated the groups. The first girls group

at Motown were the Marvelettes, and they led the way for us. And we, Martha and the Vandellas, were the second girls groups to make the airwaves and have hit records that scored on the billboards and record world and the Rolling Stone charts. Then there was the Supremes. They had been there all the time, but they were younger and Barry Gordy decided that he would only work with them when they turned 21. Of course, they had the 10 number ones in a row and they led the charts and they reigned supreme. But we led the way. And I'm glad to hear and to be a part of this show, to hear you give accolades to a wonderful actress, a beautiful singer, and a great friend.

They started, of course, at 15. They started together at 15, forming this group. And it had to be, look, we've seen the movies, we've read the books. But Martha, there's no way I think anyone could really understand what it was like to be in that moment in Detroit. All of those artists coming through there and everything, every interview I've had with Barry Gordy or

Smokey Robinson and others, they said it was truly family. When I call, when I talked to Otis Williams last night, he just couldn't talk. He said, I can't talk right now. I've lost a true, true friend. Well, they started on an amateur level at the World Film Theater where we all competed and they were the primes and the Supremes were the primettes. And of course, they have a history far before Motown, before Motown's celebrity status.

And, of course, I know he would be broken. All of his group members have passed on. And being one of the legendary originals, I will apologize for my phone. It's all good. It's all good. About this morning. I love Otis. And, yes, we were a family. And yes, we are hurt and deeply surprised and dismayed that we have lost our lovely angel, Mary Wilson.

We read about breakups, groups break up, people move on. Listen, listen, they never broke up. We had the demise of Florence Ballot to deal with, and no one mentioned that. There was a separation business-wise, but they were the reality is the connection that folks establish, it is still there. Because when you experience something going through something like the creation of Motown, people say, again, Barry Gordy built Motown, but without the artist, there's nothing to build. And so really, Barry Gordy and the artist built Motown. We're the product of a man's dream. Barry Gordy took over 40 acts into his house at 2640 at West Grand Boulevard, and he trained us all to be legendary artists that we have become. We all went to school at Artist Development, and we all were trained together.

We had classes together with all the girls and with all the guys, and it was part of Barry's dream. He wanted to make us socially accepted in the world, and he wanted to give us a chance for freedom to go on stage at home, even in places where we weren't allowed in the different places, restrooms and the different restaurants and hotels where we made it, mainly because we were a company made by one man and one man's dream to make the sound of young America. Well, Martha, it is always a pleasure to chat with you and see you. Last time it was at the Sigma Gamma Rho Convention that was here in D.C. I remember that. We had a ball.

That was wonderful of you to be there with the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. Yes, I certainly enjoyed it. And then as we were putting together this tribute, I told my people, I said, look, we've got to get Martha Reeves on the show. And I look forward to once we get further down the road with this COVID, getting to where you are, sitting down and doing a longer one-on-one interview that we can share some great stories with our audience. Yeah. And my best to Melba Moore. All right. I will definitely pass it on to melba as well

martha reese we appreciate it thanks a lot god bless you god bless you as well folks as i said uh you heard michelle williams and i talking it was uh just uh three days ago uh when um when she posted this video on youtube talking about uh the anniversary of the Supremes and the new stuff that she had planned and the new music that she had planned. And so, folks, this is Mary Wilson from just three days ago. Well, this is Black History Month. Yes, indeed it is. And I am just so thrilled because so much has happened to me in the month of February. I mean, really.

When I say me, I mean the Supremes, you know. And so we're going to be talking about Supremes. Yeah, 60th anniversary. And I will be talking a lot about that. And mainly because I finally have decided how to work with Universal. And they are going to release new recordings, Mary Wilson recordings. Yes, at last!

At last! Thank you, Andy's girl, for helping in that and Harry, too. But anyway, so much is happening. I mean, like I said, we will be talking about those new releases, Mary Wilson's. I think they're going to release Red Hot, that album. Remember in the late 60s? Was it late 60s? Yeah.

No, it wasn't. It was the late 70s. But it was in February. So let me tell you, on this album, Red Hot, and I have the Gus Dudgeon songs that I did in the late 70s. That's the right time. And it was four wonderful songs that were never released, so now they'll be released.

And I've also had some other songs, some surprising new songs, new recordings. Yeah, so thank you, Universal, for, you know, chiming in with me and helping this come true. Hopefully some of that will be out on my birthday. Yeah, March 6th. Yeah. And we'll see. Okay.

I got my fingers crossed here. Yes, I do. So, and also this month is, you know, this month is Black History Month, as I mentioned. And it is just so much is happening. I'm going to have a couple of interviews on there, one that I did at the Carlisle Hotel in New York, and I was interviewed about that Green Book. I hope you guys saw the movie because that was something that, hey,

we the Supremes, we experienced a lot of that stuff, right, especially when we were on the Motown Review Tour in the South, and then, of course, we were on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars show. We had a lot of things happening to us on those shows because of the segregation. So those are two important things that we're going to be talking about. And also, I think one of the other interviews I did was from, it was about Leo's Casino in Ohio. So, you know, I want you guys to really check that out because, you know, we talk a lot about the segregation and things like that. So that's, you know, a couple of interviews I did. Now I'm going to give you some

dates because it's all in February, right? So let me see. February 2nd, My Heart Can't Take No More, that was released. And we actually performed that at the Apollo during the Old Town Review Tour in 1963. So then February 7th, Run, Run, Run was released. I love Run, Run, Run. We really thought that was going to be a hit, but it wasn't. But anyway, we performed that on the Tammy show. Yes, we did. So those two. And then there was also February 8th, Stop, and the name was released. And that was in 1964, though. And we performed that one. Oh, we did that on lots of TV shows. Yes, we did. In fact, I think it was Shindig, February 24th, 1965. We did that one.

So I love that one. So then, of course, on the 18th of February, we did Where the Action Is. That was fun. There's a lot of other artists on that show with us. So check that one out. And then February 18th, hear symphony was released that was one of my favorite favorite supreme songs holland doja holland songs i should say because they did all those early songs and i thank you guys for for that and then uh let me see that was

uh february 20th we were on the ed sullivan show yes indeed 1966 so those are some of the things that you're going to be seeing on the YouTube channel. And I just want to thank you guys for, you know, chiming in and seeing, you know, seeing some of the things that we did back in the day. And the second part of the month, I will give you some other things that we did in February, all February. And it wasn't all good, some of the things that happened, because, of course, we lost our very dear, dear sister, Florence Ballard, on February 26th. But we'll talk about those things later on in the month. So make sure you check out the channel.

Check it out. Got lots of new uploads and new interviews, you know, and all those things. Of course, Black History Month is going to be our theme for the month. OK, thank you. Take care, guys. Bye. We'll talk about those things later this month. Well, unfortunately, we will not hear from Mary Wilson again. That was a video she posted on her YouTube page just three days ago. She passed away last night at her home in Henderson, Nevada at the age of 76. Joining us right now,

two members, founding members of another amazing women's group going down in history in vogue. Terry Ellis joins us right now. Folks, let me know when we have Cindy Heron, when we have her up. Let me first start with you, Terry. Just what is it like, again, when they talk about history and they talk about famous girl group, or let's say women's group, and in vogue as mentioned in the same breath as the Supremes. Oh, my God. First of all, hey, how you doing? And thanks for having me. Well, I'm just I'm so blown away and almost speechless after watching that clip of Mary Wilson. Just to be mentioned in the same breath with the Supremes is, it's truly an honor because we're talking about an era of music that was Black excellence, the epitome of poise and class and sophistication.

And they set the bar high for us. And so we had to strive pretty hard, you know, to try and reach that. And we're so grateful for that because they were trailblazers. And if it weren't for them, there probably would be no En Vogue. We have Cindy here, Ron. Cindy, glad to have you join us as well. Another founding member of En Vogue. Always a pleasure to see both of you. Again, I'll ask you, you're just the same thing. When we talk about famous groups, Supremes, they're at the top of the list. Absolutely.

The Supremes were my first girl group crush. And as Terry said, they set the bar very high. And for us, you know, we always said that we were a composite in vogue of many of the girl groups that had gone before us. And the Supremes was definitely at the top of our list. We could have never filled those shoes, but we certainly tried hard to follow in their footsteps. As Terry mentioned, they were groomed for success. They were classy. Their music had substance and great hits. Their music is timeless. And we fashioned a lot of the visual image of In Vogue after The Supremes.

Well, first of all, it's sort of hard because if you didn't, folks would have made you do it. I mean, and then when we think about, I mean, not only that, when you think about the movie Sparkle, okay? And of course, y'all redid that famous song, which, and also, y'all need to go ahead and make sure the video y'all did, they upscaled that to HD. I'm just saying.

I'm just saying that needs to be done. Since I got y'all here, they need to go ahead and, of course, those dresses are in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. But when you think about Sparkle sparkle then you think about the broadway production dream girls and of course the movie came out as well i mean the supremes were the standard and mary wilson everybody keeps talking you know diane ross and ross gets all the attention but but without flo ballard mary wilson and diana Ross, there are no Supremes. That's right.

Yeah, I think in a group that's that successful and you have that much talent, it's never about just one person. I mean, of course, fans are going to always have their favorites in a group. That's just how it is. But, you know, what makes the group successful and all of the elements and the components that make it what it is, it's about the whole of the group. So it's never about one person. See, as I was sitting there talking, Cindy,

I thought about that scene from the movie The Temptations. And I forgot which one of them. And they said, Otis, ain't nobody coming to hear you sing. But the reality is Otis was the one who kept the group together. And when we talk about group dynamics, that is important because every, I don't care, it's the same as any football team, basketball team. Everybody has a role to play. And it doesn't matter if you're not the person who is always out front.

Absolutely. The folk who are standing behind you also make it possible for you to do what you do. Exactly. 100%. Yes. And Mary was, she was talented. We knew that if she wanted to go solo, she could have. She had a beautiful singing voice. But Mary was a talented we knew that if she wanted to go solo she could have she had a beautiful

singing voice but mary was a team player mary was a team player and she understood uh that the supremes was a package and it was a vision and a dream of barry gordy's and he put this three girl group together and he it was intended that diana would be lead singer. So Mary knew it, you know, but she also knew what she brought to the table. And she brought a lot to the table. The Supremes would not have been the Supremes without Mary Wilson. Yeah, it was it was each one of the ladies and what they brought to the table that made it work as a whole. Talk about when y'all cross paths. did uh how did she receive y'all and and the last if you can recall last time uh you saw her or chatted with her oh my god let me just tell you we were like little kids and a candy for when we met her, we were like, oh, we absolutely love you.

We salute you. We honor you. And thank you for being who you are. And thank you for all the beautiful work and the legacy that you guys created for us. We we I mean, we we just it was and especially now thinking about it now, I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to give her her flowers. Yes. I'm so glad we had that opportunity. Absolutely. And I, you know, I, I know that it was about three or four years ago, we were performing and I honestly can't tell you what event it was, but it was a corporate event where she was being honored and to have her sitting there in the front, you know, it was a, it was sort of like a banquet situation to have her sitting there in the front you know it was a it was sort of like a banquet situation to have her table sitting right there in front of the stage um watching our performance

this is the woman who inspired us and right she was she was a beautiful vibrant full of life personality she was visibly still beautiful We all marveled at her beauty. We were like, oh my gosh, you're so beautiful. And she had this beautiful gown on and she was serving you cleavage. And she was ramped up. And she was stunning and to see her still so beautiful and so vivacious and full of life and just bursting with personality and being so so kind to us i mean she she's a diva she was a diva in her own right but she wasn't being that diva she was just a beautiful soul and um and that was an

unforgettable evening and we were just so honored that she sat there and watched our show and we really did give her flowers not just purple flowers but we brought her up on stage and we were yeah we did you um you talked about uh her in the cleavage i had to laugh no i did y'all uh this is a photo from august uh 2011 uh this is uh y'all. This is a photo from August 2011. This is this is. So. So here's the deal. This this was August 26, 2011. So the Alphas put on a production here in D.C. This was the this was the weekend of the MLK Memorial unveiling that actually was stopped due

to the hurricane, but the Alpha said, look, we already got, these people have flown in, we're going to keep doing this program. So we're backstage at Constitution Hall and I see Mary Wilson. She always had great words. She loved the work that I did. And so she had this rap

and she's like, hold up, hold up, hold up. She's like, I got to get these out. So she takes the rap and she said, the hola hola hola. She's like I got to get I got to get these out So she takes the wrap and she said I got to make sure these are in the photo. Oh, she had me crack it up laughing Oh, yeah, oh no, and it was and in fact cuz it was cuz we were backstage and and I can't believe and I'm going to show you what I got. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. And in fact, because we were backstage, and I can't believe, and I'm so ticked. See, this is the problem when you actually participate in conversations, because I was actually in the conversation with Mary Wilson, Layla Hathaway, Shirley, Ralph. Wow. And I'm standing there cracking up laughing because it was a cleavage conversation.

And so, you know, the three of them them that's a whole lot of cleavage in the conversation so I'm cracking up laughing and I'm going through and I had this photo then I had individual photos of Layla and Cheryl but not all of us together because I was actually in the conversation but it was always it was always uh but she was absolutely wonderful, was always good to hang out with. And that smile, that smile. And that's the thing. I think if you look at the video that we just showed you, the video we just showed you. And folks, if y'all go to her Twitter feed, she had an electric smile.

Yes. Oh, she did. Absolutely. I mean, radiating. Just a beautiful spirit. And she just exuded just beauty and sophistication all day long. Cindy, final comment. I am so grateful for the music that Mary Wilson and all of the Supremes have gifted the planet

because it's timeless. It is still a high standard for us girl groups to follow. And I am, I'm grateful for her life, the blessing that her life was to this planet. So Mary, just sing your heart out in heaven and we will see you when we get there. Uh, well,

look, you too. No, I love y'all dearly. And to all the folks who watch Roland Martin unfiltered, uh, y'all, y'all, people thought I was lying and I told y'all dearly. And to all the folks who watch Roland Martin Unfiltered, people thought I was lying, and I told them I wasn't lying. And there are people out there, they hit me up,

they're on our YouTube channel, they're on Facebook, and they send me emails. They're like, dude, your show intro is in my head. The music comes on, and I get these stories. People say they kids dance, I get these stories. People say they kids dance, dance to the show intro. Uh, and for everybody who was watching, you don't know, y'all can thank, uh, Cindy, uh, and Terry. Cause at the opening of the Smithsonian, y'all, this is a true story. The opening of Smithsonian, they say, Hey, we've got a gift for you. And I was like, all right. You know, I'm like, okay okay but i got a t-shirt or a hat or something and and here's what happened so this is the backstory so when we did tv ones news one

now there were several people who i know in music who i said hey i would love for you to do the do the show intro and uh uh my man kirk whalum sent me something dougie fresh wanted to do something john legend did and so in vogue saying we put something together uh and uh also name the Kirk Whalum sent me something. Doug E. Fresh wanted to do something. John Legend did. And so, in Vogue, we put something together. And also, name the producer. I don't have it. Was it Silk? Slick.

Slick. Slick. Okay. So, the folks at TV One, they were like, yeah, we don't know. You know, we think it sounds dated. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? I said, what y'all say? And they chose some canned-ass news music. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? I said, what y'all say? And they chose some canned-ass news music. And I was like, wait a minute, hold up.

Y'all chose that over En Vogue? You know, I said, you know what? I'm done with y'all. So, so finally we did that. So at the Smithsonian, they said, Rolly, we want to gift this song to you because what you do for our people. And I said, I was so appreciative,

and I said, yo, I'm going to hold on to this sucker. And when I decided to launch this show, when they canceled that show, I launched this one. There was no question what I would say was going to be the theme show of Roland Martin Unfiltered. So I appreciate both of you for doing the theme song to this show. We're so happy to be here, Roland. That's why we just, it was our pleasure to create that song for you. It epitomizes you and what you do. And thank you again. You know, we want to give you your flowers again.

Thank you again for what you do for our culture. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. And people love the Uncle Roro line that's in the song. That's right. I appreciate it. Cindy, Terry, thank you so very much. Thanks for joining us on this tribute to Mary Wilson. Thanks for having you. All right. Thanks a bunch. See, so y'all got the inside story. I told you I told you I thought I was lying. That was actually what really happened on Election Day. On Election Day, Mary Wilson had a conversation with the folks at NNPA. And Lawn Victoria Burke was one of the folks who was on that conversation to show.

I want to show some of that. Then come back and talk to Lauren about what it was like to participate in that discussion with Mary Wilson. Y'all can roll it. I want to bring in a very special guest, Ms. Mary Wilson from the Supremes. Mary Wilson has been following this race, just as well as everyone else. Welcome, Mary Wilson. Hi, how you doing? I'm here all by myself trying to work this technology, honey, and at 76 years old, I tell you, it is hard. I keep up with all you guys, but I hope you can hear me and see me now.

Is that okay? Yes. So we have Misha Green from the Afro in D.C. We have Melanie Campbell of the Black Women's Roundtable. And below Melanie on my screen is Lauren Burke, a great columnist. She also works with Roland Martin on Roland Martin's show. She does a whole lot. And you talk about somebody plugged in, Mary Wilson on Capitol Hill. Well, you're looking at Lauren Burke.

She is plugged in. Hi, Lauren. How are you well you're looking at lauren burke she is plugged in how you doing mary it's an honor to talk to you michelle and milani oh i tell you this is really something isn't it i mean normally i'm on the road and i and i just you know this time i went down myself okay and i said my boy what's going on i'm in las vegas and uh lines weren't long and so i i was able to get there i was not number 25 in the line i was like yes i can do this and so i cast my vote because you know i'm just i'm just a biden person and and love is kamala you know so I'm just so happy about this. Let's keep on. Let's win this one, okay? Absolutely.

Absolutely. Well, you know, as Lauren said, we're all sort of legends around here, right? We're all doing wonderful things. I mean, I was around back in the 60s, and after I was born. You were on that call. You were surprised when they called up Mary Wilson. Audio. Can't hear Lauren.

All right, Lauren, go ahead. Okay. I was really surprised. In fact, of course, we were there to talk politics, and I really actually wanted to talk to her about the Supremes. Because we had no idea who was on what shift we had a general idea of who was on what shift that night you know how election night shows are there's so many people coming in and out so i was surprised that she was there and i want to talk about i actually want to talk to her because you know it wasn't every day i could see Melanie and Dr. Chavis almost any time.

Right. But it wasn't every day you're going to see Mary Wilson, literally a legend that you're on with. So I can't believe it. You know, just looking at Twitter, I'm sure you notice rolling. You know, Diana Ross tweeted a few things and kind of sort of waiting for Tom Jones to tweet something. And I can't believe it. I mean, we were just talking to her and it's really shocking to me to hear that she had died suddenly because she was certainly, you know, she was in the game and certainly all together. And the idea, I'm surprised that she was 76. She didn't seem like she was that old to me at all. So I was really surprised to see her. And I was really glad to talk to her at least for a little bit, you know, in that

segment. Segment went on for about 30 minutes. So it was a lot of fun. Well, it certainly was. It was great. And you're right. I, you know, look, it's never it's never easy when we lose our legends, especially when they're so active. But you look at Cicely Tyson. I mean, she was doing interviews for her book literally the day before she passed away. And in Pat Harvey, who knew her quite well, Pat grew up near her in Detroit. Pat, she texted me and she said, I'm just thankful that she passed away in her sleep. Yeah. Yeah. And I was thinking, too, about Hank Aaron. But, you know, you're right. It's like, you know, a lot of these people have had experiences that were so incredible in the time that they lived in.

And, you know, the idea of they actually lived in that period where we had the Green Book, as everybody knows, on the Motown tour. I think the other thing that kind of shocks me about the whole thing with the Supremes is that it's uncommon in our music today that you just sort of have hit after hit after hit after hit. Of course, the way Barry Gordy figured this out was that he put together a group of songwriters that was so great that you just couldn't lose, really. But for any group to have as many hit singles as they did in a row is pretty incredible. I have a lot of their songs on my phone. And it's so weird to me because, you know, just in the last few weeks I've been listening to the Supremes. But, I mean, I don't know who doesn't have at least one or two Supreme songs

in their phone. It is really incredible when you think about the musical legacy. I think they are the greatest group of all time, greatest female group of all time in terms of sales. I think that's accurate. I've got to write, unfortunately, I got to write about her in about an hour for NNPA, but I'm really just sort of shocked by it, to be to write about her in about an hour for NNPA. But I'm really just sort of shocked by it, to be honest with you. It's an amazing thing. Long Victoria Burke. We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. To Lauren's point, this is the tweet that Diana Ross sent out. I just woke up to this news. My condolences to you, Mary's family. I'm reminded that each day is a gift. I have so many wonderful memories of our

time together. The Supremes will live on in our hearts. Two folks who also knew Mary Wilson quite well is Eddie LaVert, founder of the fabulous Mighty Mighty OJ's, my man, my golf buddy, and the man who butt dials me more than anybody else. Y'all, every three months, I get a butt dial from Eddie LaVert. I'm like, Eddie, is there like a butt dial contact in your phone? What's going on? And, of course, my other buddy, his voice ain't changed one bit. My other golf buddy, Jeffrey Osborne. Hey, what's up?

What's up, Jeff? It's always great to have Jeffrey and Eddie. I'm going to go elder first because you see Jeffrey, you see all that gray. You know, not everybody know. Eddie, when he was singing, he would have all, he was singing he would have all he would have the black beard the black hair yeah COVID would have just exposed everything

get him Roman get him you know I'm going to get him you know I'm going to get him so Eddie just share with us your thoughts about Mary Wilson. Whatever. Whatever, Roland.

Whatever. Okay, Roland, okay. You know how I'm going to do it. Share us your thoughts about Mary Wilson, Eddie. Listen, man. We've lost another great part of black music history. You know, Mary Wilson, to me, you know, like, yeah, you have Diana Ross and you have Florence, but Mary Wilson was the glamour girl of springs she was that um the one that you look at and you say oh man what if i if i just if i had just uh if if i wasn't so in awe of her whenever i would be in her company

i probably would have hit on her but i was so in awe from the standpoint that the first time i saw them they were in cleveland and they were they were called a prime match and it was four of them at that time and uh they were playing a place called the keith 105 theater and And that was just before they started doing all the great hits. And, you know, Diana Ross was still, you know, she was still in the forefront. But you could always remember Mary Wilson because of the smile, because of the glam, because of, you know, she just was that sophisticated part of the Supremes that when you saw without her and the way she handled herself and the way that she performed and the way that she looked, you know, she was a very intricate part of that group. And that, yeah, everybody loved Diana and her voice and the way she sound.

But if you went there just to look up on a wonderful body and a great looking woman, then Mary Wilson was all of that. Jeffrey Osborne. Hey, Erwin. My man. How are you, man?. Hey, Erwin. My man. How are you, man? All good, all good. All right.

We always, you know, of course, you know, we live in this virtual world. And unfortunately, when a lot of our grades pass because of COVID, we don't have an opportunity to have the funerals that we normally do, the homegrown services. But we always make it a point on this show, both of you being with us before, Bill Withers' past and others, why it's important for the next generation to know who these legends and greats are, and that's why we're doing this tribute to Mary Wilson. Well, she was definitely someone that these young people need to take note and check out because she was truly class, you know, and I mean, she always had herself with such class i mean uh she's definitely one of the true legends i mean i would think that that's probably the biggest female group ever i mean the number one hits that they had i can't even count them on two sets of hands and you know what the thing

i love about that era and people like m Mary is that they were just so classy. And I wish that some of these young women would take a page out of that book, you know, because, you know, it's one thing to be successful, but it's another thing to get up on stage with no clothes on. And these young girls don't have no clothes on today. They need to look back at the Mary Wilsons and the Supremes and those groups and see how classy they were and how they held themselves and uh it's just amazing man she's definitely a legend she's a legend that will go down in history and uh i couldn't even count all her accomplishments so man she's amazing man it really is eddie what

jeffrey was just talking about i mean that the reality is that when we think about the Supremes, we think about Mary Wilson, Flo Ballard, Diana Ross, we think about the word that immediately jumps out is class. It was, and of course, the finishing school at Motown was important in terms of how they carried themselves. And the reality is Luther Vandross was that way uh eddie y'all are jeffrey you are in terms of how you present yourself uh when you are interfacing with the public that's also a part of what people remember it's not just the music. It's the entire package. Exactly. Well, Roland, it's like that, you know, I always think of, I always, when I talk to people,

I always speak of Eddie LaVert, the O.J., as in the third person because that's a whole nother persona that when I'm at home, as you can see now, that, you know, it's like I am a regular person. But when I get outside of the realm of my home and I get outside to my public, then I become Eddie LaVert, the OJ. In other words, not untouchable, something that they can touch, something that they can feel, something that I must let them know that I'm human, and also that I am going to carry myself in such a fashion

that they can be proud that I'm a Black man carrying the torch for all black people. There you go. There you go. Well said, Eddie. That's it. You know, and Jeffrey knows the same thing. You know, like when we go up and do his fundraiser up in Providence,

and when we go up there and the way that the people react to him and to all of us up there, Roland, all the celebrities that come, Smokey, Johnny Gill, Magic Johnson, all the people that come up there are gentlemen. These are all people that are representing our culture and our people at the highest level that we possibly can. And that's what I think these young kids just got to start realizing. You're not just representing yourself. You're representing your people. And you've got to make sure that that is a representation that is up at the top of the level, at the highest level. I think what also happens, Jeffrey, is that when we lose a Mary Wilson,

you know, for a lot of people, it's also the connection with our parents. So, for instance, I love to play music all the time on Instagram. I have something called Club Brown Liquor, and I don't even drink. But I play what I call brown liquor music. I play the OJs. I play Jeffrey. I love what I call brown liquor music. I play the old J's. I play Jeffrey. I love playing stranger holding on. And this is what I hear from people, man. I grew up, my mama and daddy listened to it. And so it caused people to start thinking about their mother and father and what, and growing up and family gatherings and things along those lines.

That's also what the Supremes represents because the music of Mary Wilson and the Supremes and your music and Eddie's music is that you can listen to it regardless of what family member's in the room. That, I think, also is what we also think about when we lose a legend like this. Absolutely right, yeah.

I mean, you know, it's, like it's it's it's class it's solid music it's music that has so much meaning behind it uh you know those artists like mary the supremes the oj's you know i can enjoy i can close my eyes and enjoy that music some of the music today these kids think they're on full display, you know, and like I said, the way they present themselves, the way they're dressed, if you close your eyes, you ain't even going to enjoy it. So you almost have to look at it because that's the showcase for them. But, you know, to be able to put a Supremes record on and just close my eyes and I can just envision everything I want, just the beauty of the music itself uh they

they broke the ground man they they broke the ground for me I mean that was an amazing era of music uh that they put out and uh I can't thank them enough and I and like I said I I don't think there's another group female group that can rival them the hell they were rivaling the beatles back in the day they were going toe-to-toe number one hit record and i think and i think on that on that point there uh eddie the music is timeless although we all the flow ballad passed away in the 60s although uh although we lost um uh we lose mary wilson last night um the reality at the age of 76 there is no doubt that a 100 years from now the supreme's music is going to be played on radio stations across the world i have i have a nephew that he wakes up and he sings it all the time, Baby Love.

He just sings, this is my nephew, and he's blind. And he sings Baby Love all the time. Just every time, every time, he, Baby Love, my baby, I mean, he just, baby love, my baby love. I mean, he's just, I mean, so, and he's like in his 30s. But this song has affected his life. And he lives in a world that he can't see. But this song has made him be able to visualize that song and those people that sing it. And they have touched his heart and his life.

And they're going to always be a part of him. And so, yeah, man, rolling that music. Diana Ross. Diana Ross. Florence Ballard, what's the other girl that took... Cindy Burson. Yes. All of these girls that, you know, and they came in because the reason why I can speak on it

is because Charlie Atkins, who used to do a lot of our shows, and he was a lot of part of the Motown grooming school that they had over there, that he would tell us a lot about Mary, a lot about Diana Ross, a lot about Florence, a lot about the Temptations, a lot about Smokey, a lot about the Four Tops. That era of music was inspiring to me that made me want to be all I wanted to be. And it made the OJs be able to dress and to carry themselves in a star-like manner, if you can understand what I mean when I say a star-like manner. Absolutely. Definitely understand what I mean when I say a star-like man. Absolutely. Definitely understand what you mean. I mean, that's the presentation we all had coming up.

And we got it. You know, those were our leaders, the Motown. The whole Motown era was amazing. Absolutely. And like you were saying, your young nephew or grandson wakes up singing Baby Love. I mean, you know, we'll forever have the image of Stop in the Name of Love embedded in us. So just that hand going out, Stop in the Name of Love. That will live on forever and ever and ever.

Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I think two things will be living on forever. Putting that hand out, stop in the name of love. Two, the amount of sweat Eddie LaVert drops on stage. And the woo-woo, man. And the sheer

shirts of Jeffrey Osborne. The sheer shirts of Jeffrey Osborne. Since they have the En Vogue red dresses from that video giving him something he could feel,

I think they have got to put a sheer shirt of jeffrey osborne in the national museum of african-american history and culture get him rolling i was so sure i was so sure that when we play i was so sure that when we played in the Jeffrey Osborne Golf Tournament, Jeffrey was going to have sheer shirts for all of us to play. But everybody, you know, we ain't all fit, you know, working out with a chest like Jeffrey. But y'all ain't.

Jeffrey, how many sheer shirts you actually got? I think you got more sheer shirts than Frankie Beverly got white hats. Hey, I'm putting up the hands. Stop. Yo, I know. Every time I seen Jerry perform, I'm like his ass got that sheer shirt on again. Because you ain't seen me in a while.

And he's going to take the coat off. He's going to take the coat off so you can see the whole thing. Yeah, he going to know. You stop wearing them when you what? Hit 71? Is that what it was? When you hit 70? That's right.

When I hit 70? That's right. When I hit 70. If y'all think I'm lying, I want y'all to go to YouTube and look up some old videos. Jeffrey Osborne gonna have a sheer shirt on. They're not sheer. Where'd you get the sheer from?

Eddie, I swear I saw Jeffrey once in a fishnet shirt I thought we were talking about Mary I was about to say bye but I want to go ahead and put that out there for everybody who's watching just so we know. Gentlemen, it's always a pleasure, man. I hate, we always see each other at the golf tournament, always see each other on the road. Y'all performing somewhere, I'll pop up.

We do our thing. I appreciate both of you. Of course, the amazing music. Y'all are two legends as well, and so I appreciate joining us to show some love to Mary Wilson. Thank you very much, and you know, rest

in peace, Mary. Absolutely. Eddie LaVert, Jeffrey Osborne. Gentlemen, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. Take care, Roland. Yes, sir. All right, folks. Edward Jeffrey Osborne gentlemen I appreciate it thanks a lot thank you Rowland yes sir alright folks so many people of course were just shocked and stunned by the death of Mary Wilson

last night Shirley Ralph of course who was in the Broadway production of Dreamgirls she took to Instagram just just she had the phone laying down. She was you could see her eyes are red and she just had to share her thoughts with the world about her dear friend who she had talked to just the day before. Watch this.

I keep saying it and I know it's true that none of us have as much time as we think we have. And I literally just woke up and got the news that Mary Wilson of the Supremes has passed away I'm that little girl in the 60s who put her t-shirt on her head trying to make long hair to swing behind me singing into the mirror holding my hairbrush. And life is a funny thing. I loved her and the Supremes so much as a little girl.

Like little girls love Beyonce now. And I grew up, met Mary Wilson while I was doing Dreamgirls, and she was nothing but kind and warm and sassy and tell it like it is. To me from day one. She kept in touch with me from the moment I met her. She did the first diviva Simply singing with me. And called her friends too. And.

And. When I was doing Diva Simply Quarantine, she said, girl, you know, I have to do one with you. Just call Jay and we're just going to make it all happen. And we had the best conversation. And it's like yesterday, and you're like, today, what? I mean... Life is short. And then we die and, you know, I always say, you know, try to settle things with people, but then life just happens.

Death comes and it is what it is. I shared some great moments with Mary Wilson. Because she wanted me there. Another great, I tell everybody, I had the greatest mentors of show business women. And when people talk about women don't support women, that's one thing I've always had is the support of other women, especially other great women. And sometimes greatness is something you can't really see.

You just have to experience it. And Corona is the season of Corona. And I don't know how she passed on. But this season of Corona is just reminding me of back in the day when so many of your friends and your people or people you loved would pass away. And you would think to yourself, why is it happening like this. She would always... It's funny. We were supporting Kamala, and she was like, girl, we got to get her to the White House. She was always saying, how's that husband of yours, girl?

You know I like that husband of yours. Vincent, how are you? Cheryl, I'm the dream girl. No, Mary, I'm the dream girl. You're the supreme. another one gone I rest in heavenly peace Mary I rest in heavenly peace, Mary.

Rest in peace and the power of persistence. That was actress Shirley Ralph. In 1988, the Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was the acceptance speech of Mary Wilson. Okay, folks, let's go ahead. Let's just do this here. Here it is. Here it is. And also, Richard, before we go any further, Florence Ballard's youngest daughter, Lisa Chapman Ballard.

Thank you. Thank you. Richard, I didn't have this written down in my speech, but I think I'm going to say it after what you said. Honey, I was looking at you sneaking out to all those rock and roll, you know, movies, and I had to hide my stockings in my purse and put my lipstick in my purse. I was only about two. And I mean, but we had lots of fun watching you. I know, I know. But I am going to bring my little paper out here to read it. First of all, I'd like to sort of talk about the fact that, come Lisa, closer, that I was not live to be here to know that what we as three little girls,

three insecure little girls had dreamt of could possibly come true. It saddens me to know that, but that's life and there's nothing we can do about it. But I'm very proud that everyone has given us this honor so that her daughters could be here to see how much we loved her. Now I'm going to read my speech. And I've got to say that since I've written my book, I had to get glasses. But I'm not wearing them tonight. This is one of those rare moments. Oh, first of all, also, Mike had mentioned that Diane is not here this evening.

It was my wish, of course, that she's here, but we all must recognize that people have to live their lives. And there comes a time in a star's life when you have to really assess what's important to you. And I would say that perhaps since Diane has received so many, many accolades in life and so much success, she probably has felt that she's married, she has a child, and this is something that's very, very important. And I respect the fact that maybe in her life she saw fit to stay with something that was very personal, and a personal achievement more than a public achievement. this is this is one of those rare moments in a person's life and in history

that we all dream of and like I wrote in my book Dream Girl my life is a supreme dreams do come true sometimes people have to just keep dreaming we all hope that the world is looking in when we receive our awards and that the world can share in the moments of happiness that we each

receive. I'm told that in order to be eligible to receive an award for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you had to have recorded some 27 years ago. Well, I was six when I started. It's very obvious, I'm sure. And it was because of one young man at the time, Barry Gordy, who was there for us. We had a place at Motown Records to go, and I'm very happy to say that he gave us the opportunity and we cannot forget Harlem Doja Harlem whose music still lives on today.

Florence and I shared a success that you all were looking in on throughout the world. And I certainly hope that you as people received and you were able to see the hopes and desires that we had and it helped your lives along the way. I'd like to thank the directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for honoring us at this moment and that we all can remember that rock and roll will never die as long as we, the people out there, making it happen. I thank you very much. That was 1988 where Mary Wilson gave her acceptance speech when the Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This is a statement that was released today by the founder of Motown, Barry Gordy. I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supremes. The Supremes were always known as the sweethearts of Motown. Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented string of number one hits, television and nightclub bookings,

they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others. I was always proud of Mary. She was quite a star in her own right, and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva, and will be deeply missed. That is Barry Gordy.

Folks, it was, of course, last night when we got word that Mary Wilson passed away at the age of 76. She died in her sleep. And we showed you earlier the video that she released on YouTube three days ago. This was the video that she did on New Year's, celebrating a new year and saying, what are we going to make of 2021? A fitting way to close our tribute to Mary Wilson, dead at the age of 76. Happy New Year's, everybody. Hey, Happy New Year's. I told you I'd get in touch. Honey, I'm here by myself having a ball. I'm not going to go out for New Year's. I'm going to celebrate and watch everybody on television. So Happy New Year's.

Happy New Year's, everybody. Hey, happy New Year's. Happy New Year's everybody. Hey, happy New Year's. I told you I'd get in touch. Honey, I'm here by myself having a ball. I'm not going to go out for New Year's. © B Emily Beynon Thank you. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else,

but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

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