By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Six-time Grammy Award-winning artist BeBe Winans has been missing in action of late and a conversation some years ago with TASTY CLIPS may have offered clues to his ramping down some.
We spoke after tremendously successful engagements in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. of the musical story of BeBe and CeCe Winans, “Born for This,” which was headed to Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.
How the two Detroit teenagers came to be paired by televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in North Carolina is told in the piece along with the self-discovery they experienced in the face of the temptations of fame that came with crossing over to mainstream popularity.
BeBe, who composed the original score and co-authored the book with director Charles Randolph-Wright of “Motown: The Musical” fame, revealed that the spark for its creation came during a call from singer Roberta Flack 10 years earlier.
“We were just talking about things when all of a sudden, she detoured and said, ‘BeBe, Look baby when you going to get to it? You gotta write that musical about you and your sister. It’s an American story. After that it’s a movie.’
“I pulled the phone away. It was the wildest experience I think I ever had. About five days later, I was visiting friends in Montreal. I walked into my room, opened up my laptop and like a faucet turned on, I sat there for two hours and wrote the first draft.”
After a tough casting process, the lead roles were won by family members Juan Winans, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter in his own right; and Deborah Joy Winans, who co-starred on OWN’s original TV series “Greenleaf.”
“I couldn’t be prouder,” boasted the beaming uncle. “That being said, there are 40 nieces and nephews around and some of them ain’t talented. So trust me, they’re not up there because their last name is Winans. They’re up there because they can pull it off.”
Despite receiving accolades in its previous run, criticism is something that he’s not worried about.
“My family don’t know nothing about peer pressure because to be raised the way we were raised, what is that?” he asked. “So, when it comes to reviews, I’ve never been scared of them because what you believe may not be what I believe.”
Added Winans: “What I learned in the beginning was you can’t expect people to understand what’s been given to you. If you’re not ready to be misunderstood, then you’re not ready to do anything in life. My father and mother taught us that. “Understanding that doesn’t make it pleasurable to hear people talk and say terrible things about you, but it’s part of the journey.”
The former chart topper felt that music was at an all-time low.
“I’m a 55-year-old grown man and I can’t listen to some things that they’re saying on radio,” Winans said at the time. “Really has it come down to this? That profanity is all in the lyric? Gladys Knight sang ‘Neither One of Us Can Be the First to Say Goodbye.’ That’s real. Being a lyricist, I’m really a fan of a song being presented and a story there. Sad to say, there’s not a lot of that in all genres these days. When I hear a nice song, I’m like Whoa!
“I think we need to teach the next generation how we got here and how we endured,” he continued, “because if we don’t, they lose out on the richness and reality of who they are. We were taught how to sing and how to present a song. I think that’s lost.
“There are no A&R divisions in record companies that really teach artists how to be artists,” he added. “I don’t even watch music television shows cause ain’t nobody wearing no clothes. It’s just shock value. I’m like that’s not a dress! Really! It’s in a sad state.”
Surprisingly, BeBe Winans is much happier these days behind the scenes.
“I love writing and putting things together,” he shared. “I can enjoy singing here and there but that’s why you haven’t seen me on the tour circuit. That’s not my passion. This is something I’m enjoying.”
For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
