5.10.2009
5.09.2009
SAM GIANCANA PHYLLIS MCGUIRE 1960 LOVE STORY
Sam Giancana, Chicago mob boss, was untouchable until 1960, when he met Phyllis McGuire, lead singer of the popular McGuire Sisters. Deftly eluding the Justice Department, the F.B.I. and rival mobsters, the murderous gangster was helpless in the hands of the wholesome, "virginal" singer he first saw in Las Vegas.
Phyllis McGuire was not a gold digger when she met Sam Giancana. Phyllis was hot, had hit recordings topping the charts and making long money in personal appearances around the world.
But Phyllis was in love.
All those in the know say it was Phyllis who could not help herself. She knew better than to fall for a lousy guy like Sam. She didn’t need anything from him. Sam was not even a handsome man, so why then? Well, they say “love is blind” and it could not be truer than with Phyllis's love for Sam. Power is the ultimate turn on we guess...
San Giancana enjoyed the limelight, some say he was even envious of show business personalities. Perhaps this is where he went way wrong. Sam seemed to thrive on his own notoriety in the media.
Tony Accardo had advised Sam on various occasions to “keep your head down,” as being visible would only bring dangerous attention to the Outfit. Sam would not listen.
Phyllis testifies at the Grand Jury (No Comment)
At this time Sam was seeing singer Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters and it was a routine thing to see their photo in a newspaper or magazine on a regular basis.
This brought a lot of attention from the Feds. In 1965, Sam was the subject of a grand jury inquiry. Sam again took the fifth, refusing to answer their probing questions, but was soon given immunity. Sam still refused to talk and he was sent to Cook County jail for contempt.
He served a year and was released in May of 1966, and headed straight for Mexico. Where he lived until 1974 when the U.S. pressured the Mexican government to stop protecting him. The Mexicans literally pushed Sam across the border into El Paso, TX, into the waiting arms of FBI agents.
Sam was brought back to Chicago to wait to testify again. The Grand Jury intended to repeat the process in hopes of putting Sam back in jail, now that he was medically ill. The Outfit did not like either of these events.
Phyllis McGuire was also called before this grand jury and many experts to this day say “she never told one tale out of school” about Sam. She gave them only “surface” information, not even if Sam ever got a parking ticket. Phyllis held up.
HBO produced a really HOT version of the Sam and Phyllis romance and although they took great license with the real story it is one of my favorite films to watch often. Shoot I think I have it on Dvd and am going to put it on right now!
JFK Judith Exner and Sam Giancana
Great Story on Sam HERE
5.08.2009
BRENDA HOLLOWAY:TOO HOT FOR MOTOWN?
Brenda Holloway is my most favorite female singer of the Motown Era. I often wondered why she never charted like the rest of the "girl" groups. Berry Gordy and his "interest" in Diana Ross may have played a big part. Or Brenda's refusals to be just Berry's "girl" may have caused it. Most likely that Ms H had a very strong snarky sense of her own purpose, style and obvious singing talent.
Brenda like Mary Wilson (also too pretty for Motown) was pushed aside for Mr. Gordy's personal agendas.Read this fabulous article that tells the entire history of Brenda at Motown.
Brenda Holloway: Too Hot For Motown?
Well Brenda's been called the Most Beautiful Woman Ever Signed to Motown Records and no one's going to argue you that. Brenda Holloway had the beauty, and the voice. But it wasn't her voice that got her signed to Motown.
Berry Gordy happened to be there the night she lip-sync Mary Wells song "My Guy", even though Berry didn't hear her voice, he just had to her have her on his label, and he kind of figured she could sing because she had the emotions and attitude when she sung, plus he found her very attractive, and after that night she had a contract.
Berry showed a lot of interest in Brenda Holloway, groomed her for stardom, in her first time in Detroit, she stayed with various family members of Berry Gordy's. Berry Gordy was looking for another "MARY WELLS", and it certainly look like she could fill Mary Wells shoes.
Now let's talk about the Motown Years. It wasn't her voice that caught Berry Gordy's eye it was the skin-tight gold pantsuit that she filled out, but it was Brenda Holloway's voice that made her Motown's first major Los Angeles discovery.
Brenda had a lot of sex appeal, she was too sexy for Motown, in her live performances she would have the men yelling and screaming, but she was scared sometimes after shows because the women wanted to cut her throat for having their men yelling for her.
Brenda Holloway's looked up to Tina Turner, she didn't want to be like The Supremes, or Kim Weston, or The Vandellas, she wanted to maybe start a new image.
Berry was very much attracted to this youthful beauty, but Brenda put it bluntly that "Either I be your woman or I sing", After that, she said he never pushed me again. Brenda said a lot of the other women singers were jealous of me because I would stay with Gwen, Berry's sister and his parents.
Brenda Holloway yearned for fame and did everything asked of her (with a little back-talk) believing this could be the quickest route to success.
She got reputation for her stage outfits, they would come to see her sing, but mostly to see what she was wearing, onstage she dressed elegantly in shimmering tight-fitting gowns, she put The Supremes to shame, they couldn't copy her outfits.
She toured North America with The Beatles in 1965. However towards her 4 year stay with Motown it became apparent she was being ignored by the Motown offices. She had reverted to a second-class priority because she said "Motown's policy was to build one act at a time or their favorites.
When The Supremes were taking off, the company would pull in records so that The Supremes could go for the million. When I asked why my records were being pulled, Berry just simply said WAIT YOUR TURN, He just kept telling me that.
My records would go out of stock and stores were told to re-order. It was usually at a crucial point when the singles couldn't be got, so they weren't played and didn't go into the charts. I feel Motown really exploited me. For instance, they let The Supremes study my tapes and take songs from me.
Maybe Brenda Holloway wasn't meant for Motown, too hot, too daring, too sexy. Motown couldn't handle her, didn't know what to do with her. Motown of course wanted to keep their good, wholesome image. Brenda is getting her recognition now.
Her music is available in stores and online, the hit songs and the never-heard or released classics that should of became hits. You're in for a treat when you hear some of those classic soul songs. She lives in Los Angeles, California. She still working hard, still a main attraction and she still looks good in gold.
BRENDA HOLLOWAY
5.05.2009
I COULD NEVER LOVE ANOTHER: DAVID RUFFIN
The Temptations were the most consistently successful of the guy bands at Motown. The original line up with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks as the lead singers in my opinion have never been topped. The many incarnations of the groups had future successes as well but that raw sexual voice of David Ruffin was irreplaceable.
Davis Eli Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991)
Fabulous Soulful lead singer of The Classic Five (Original) Temptations from 1964 to 1968 David was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and many more. Known for his unique sexy raspy and anguished vocals, Ruffin is one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with the Temptations.
Smokey Robinson saw Ruffin’s unique voice that was "mellow" yet "gruff". Robinson thought that if he could write just the perfect song for Ruffin's voice, then he could have a smash hit. That song, "My Girl" recorded in November 1964 and released a month later, became the group's first #1 single and its signature song, and elevated Ruffin to the role of lead singer and front man.
He was just home from a British tour with ex-Temptations Eddie Kendricks and Dennis Edwards. Friends said he was carrying proceeds from the tour of somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000.
On June 1, 1991 after a whole evening of drinking in a Philadelphia bar, Ruffin purchased several vials of crack cocaine at 2:00 a.m., by 2:25 a.m., the cocaine was gone and Ruffin was unconscious. David's final performance in a crack house had lasted 25 minutes, and there would be no encore.
Twenty-five minutes later, he was dumped from a loaned limousine at the emergency room of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, the driver told hospital staffers that Ruffin had overdosed, then quickly left. By 4:00 a.m., fifty-five minutes after he was admitted, the 50-year-old former motown star, who once rolled up to concerts in a mink-lined limo apart form the rest of his group, was, dead, with $53 in his pockets.
It was only when the FBI did a fingerprint check that the singer was positively identified. His death was ruled accidental, due to an adverse reaction to cocaine and other drugs.
Ruffin had been in and out of rehabilitation centers since 1967, and in 1987 was sent to jail because of a drug-related parole violation.
Ruffin had been in and out of rehabilitation centers since 1967, and in 1987 was sent to jail because of a drug-related parole violation.
Ruffin's funeral was held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, June 10, 1991, amidst huge crowds of mourners at New Bethel Baptist Church, during which members of The Temptations sung "My Girl" en masse. Following the services, David was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetary in Detroit.
5.03.2009
MORE ON THE REAL GOODFELLAS
Henry Hill grew up in Brooklyn, New York and at an early age ran errands for the local Lucchese crime family. Being of Italian and Irish decent, Hill was never "made" into the crime family, but was a soldier of capo, Paul Vario, and participated in hijacking trucks, loan sharking, bookmaking and took part in the infamous 1967 Air France heist among others.
In 1967 mobster Henry Hill, aged 23, took part in the $420,000 burglary at the Air France air-cargo terminal in New York City's JFK International Airport.
The heist is memorable for its sheer audacity, and the oddness of the target, particularly in that an airline should keep such sums in storage at an airport: Air France was the carrier for American currency that had been exchanged in France by tourists and military personnel.
After Hill's close friend Tommy DeSimone vanished and he ignored warnings from his associates to stop dealing drugs, Hill became paranoid that he would soon be killed and became an F.B.I. informant. His testimony aided in the conviction of 50 criminals
Tommy DeSimone May 24, 1950 – January 14, 1979
5.02.2009
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