*“It’s a song that touches my heart,” said Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Joan Belgrave about her single from her new EP “Oooo Boy” – the title track. “The song is out right now. I wanted to get the last song out right away…to say when you lose someone you don’t lose them, they stay with you.”
This is Joan’s sixth solo project. The title track features vocal assistance from Mark Scott (lead singer of the Miracles) and comes with a music video filmed at the Berry Gordy Mansion in Detroit. It was produced by Grammy Award-winning Sanchez Harley (Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar). Belgrave is dealing with a physical ailment and wanted her children to know, through her music that she’s not going anywhere – one of the singles on the EP.
“I was pushing to get it done so my children could have it,” she said seriously.
The singer has lived a glamorous life, as a vocalist for Motown Legends Gospel Choir; for herself on “Excitable” (Blue River Records) in 2009, “Hey Love” in 2013, “Merry Christmas Baby” in 2014, “Please Send Me Someone to Love” (Blue Note Records), and “Where Am I” (Tribes) in 2009; then experiencing a loving marriage to legendary Jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave who was 19 years her senior, and performing as a duo with him and collaborating with saxophonist Charlie Gabriel on “You Don’t Know Me” A Tribute to New Orleans,” “…Tribute to Ray Charles,” “The Great Ladies of Song” and “Marcus, Charlie, and Joan…Once Again”. At 65 she is still looking good, vibrant, and motivated to continue in song. She started singing in the church as a child in Michigan and her popularity grew to include sold-out shows. She moved to Hollywood to work with classical vocalist Dr. Willis Patterson, but the passing of her father brough her back home and it was singing at his funeral that sparked her desire to sing again. Joan released “Emotions Blue” in 1998, her tribute to Billie Holiday, and “Variations” in 2005. Her surge as a singer resulted in the end of her 16-year marriage to her three children’s father. As a result, she went back to Detroit and that is when she met Marcus Belgrave.
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“Marcus was never jealous and insecure,” Joan explained when we talked about marriages in general. “I met Marcus at a jam session. He brought my two CDs. I produced concerts at the time, and I said, ‘I’m doing a show…and putting a band together – I hired him (to open the show). Because of my divorce, I was not interested…but got married. I was in Los Angeles for 15 years…went out there to sing…and then I came back to Michigan and met Marcus. My late husband was a Funk Brother who played on ‘Distant Lover’ and ‘Dancing in the Streets.”
Her EP “Oooo Boy” is a labor of love and a testimony to her endurance. As she deals with her serious ailment she is working on a documentary on the life of her late husband, Marcus Belgrave. Aside from “Oooo Boy” and “I’m Not Going Anywhere” there is also “Dreaming of You” on the EP. Joan Belgrave also launched the Belgrave Scholarship Fund for young musicians, and the Marcus Belgrave Legacy Ensemble.
“Music helps me to focus on something else than what is going on,” she said. “I have some stuff (songs) Marcus and I did. I’m going to call it ‘Unfinished Business’.” www.JoanBelgrave.com
SYNDICATED COLUMN: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million with The Pulse of Entertainment. She is also a Public Relations and Business Management Strategist and Consultant at Freelance Associates and is Promotions Director (at-large) for The Baltimore Times. www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com EVENTS: “Uplifting Minds II” Entertainment Conference (ULMII), founded by Eunice in 1999, is into its 24th year. Next events are coming to Baltimore via Zoom Saturday April 15, 2023, and to Los Angeles via Zoom Saturday, November 11, 2023. The ULMII event is a free entertainment conference offering a Professional Industry Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and National Talent Competition (vocal, songwriting, dance and acting) where aspiring artists have a chance to receive over $17,500 valued in prizes/product/services. Log onto www.UpliftingMinds2.com for more information or to RSVP for Zoom Access email [email protected].
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