King Holiday Video

Here's a 1986  video from the King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew that was comprised of the Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, Stacy Lattisaw, Teena Marie, Whitney Houston, El DeBarge and a few other music peeps from the mid to late 80's.

Damn, Lady Tee Passes Away

Mary Christine Brockert, better known to legions of R&B fans as Teena Marie, passed away in her sleep Christmas Night at age 54.     She was found by her daughter Alia Rose at her home in Pasadena, CA early this morning.

I wrote a post about her on her March 5 birthday back in 2009.   Back in the day I loved me some Teena Marie (and still do).   The Grammy Award nominee was a 'blue eyed soul' singer with some serious pipes.  



I had more than a few songs of hers I liked and her CD's have a prominent place in my collection.   Besides her 'Fire and Desire duet with Rick James, I loved a song on one of her earlier albums called 'Behind The Groove'.

Rest in peace, Lady Tee.   Thanks for the music and memories.  As  sad as we are to see you go, Rick James is probably happy his protege and duet partner is finally joining him on the other side. 

Back in the 80's, It Was Easier Being A Transsexual

TransGriot Note: Another insightful post from author Pamela Hayes

Back In The 80's, It was Easier Being A Transsexual
by Pamela Hayes

I have been living as a female for over three decades. I was a teen when I started this transsexual journey. In the beginning, the late 70’s and much of the 80’s, life was sweet. I lived as a woman, took my hormones. Eventually had surgery.... I dated. The men knew I was trans. Some of them introduced me to their family members. And friends. I was escorted to company picnics and Christmas parties. I played horse shoes and danced with their colleagues.

Here and there, people would whisper comments about me. I’m tall, and some people accused me of being a female impersonator. Not in those words, mind you. But for the most part, I was not disrespected or treated differently.

Back then, people dismissed the “That‘s a man” accusations. Think about it. We’re talking about the 70’s and 80’s. Facially, I looked female. I had/have breasts and curves. My voice was/is light and feminine. So to accuse the tall striking lady of being a man was considered a ridiculous statement.

I recall one night, in the early days of my journey, a guy and I went partying on a Tuesday night. After leaving the club, we stopped at 7-11 because I was out of soft drinks and I had to put some in the house.

I bought this big bottle of Pepsi, which they called The Boss back then.

Anyway, I went inside. This man looked me up and down. I could tell he appreciated my appearance. We spoke. He told me, I looked and smelled good. He flirted. Tried to get my phone number. He had been conversing with the clerk. It couldn’t have been anything serious if he was coming on to another woman in her presence.

When I was getting The Boss out of the cooler, I heard the clerk whisper that I was a man. “Girl, you crazy,” he said, supposedly sotto voce. “That woman just tall. Ain’t no damn way that’s a man. Your ass is crazy.”

He said goodnight to me and when he wasn’t looking, I winked at her.

The point of that story is to illustrate that back in the day, when a transsexual’s gender was impugned, people didn’t take it seriously. It was dismissed as a silly statement.

But along came the 90’s. And in the 90’s, when Miss Pamela was pelted with the ”That’s a man” accusation, people listened. Stared at me. Put me under a microscope. They wondered if the statement was true.

However, I can honestly say that most people DO NOT treat me differently. I can tell when people have been told things about me or have suspicions. I can see the confusion or skepticism in their eyes. But for the most part, they're cool. A friend, a cis woman. I know she has qualms about me. I can see it in her face. But once a week, I baby-sit her children.

But in the 90’s, trans women like Tula, and the late Jahna Steele hit the talk show circuit and a plethora of lovely t-women followed, confessing to Maury, Sally Jessy, Phil Donahue and the studio and at home audiences, making people realize that just because a woman was pretty didn’t necessarily mean she was born female.

I don’t know if this makes a lick of sense. But I’d bet some veteran trans girls can relate to what I’ve written.

Happy 45th Birthday Karyn White!

During the late 80's and early 90's Karyn Layvonne White was not only on a Grammy nominated roll musically, more than a few brothers in that time period thought she was one sexy lady as well. .


I'd heard about her thanks to me being a jazz music fan and loving Jeff Lorber's music. In 1986 he produced his Sand Castles CD that featured the then little known Los Angeles born backup singer.

A cut on the CD White sang lead on called 'Facts of Love' took off, and the rest was history.

She was appearing on the Arsenio Hall Show and two years later was releasing her own self titled LA Reid and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds produced album.   The Karyn White CD went platinum with songs such as 'The Way You Love Me', 'Superwoman', 'Secret Rendezvous' and a duet with Babyface called 'Love Saw It'. 

She's a mother running a successful interior design and real estate business in northern California these days.   She did record an album called Sista Sista in 2006 which hasn't been released yet.   If it does, I'll definitely be adding it to my music collection.

Happy birthday Karyn White!    May you have many more, and hopefully we'll get to see you on stage performing again soon.