Word On The Street

It is so important to me that I start this memorial edition off with Rudy Pardee because he was such an amazing man. Born and Raised in Cleveland, OH on June 29, 1957. His love for music took him to Los Angeles, in pursuit of the musical dream. He found a partner and was half of the duo called the L.A. Dream Team, the group who coined the hits Rockberry Jam and The Dream Team Is In The House. Although that was one of the most memorable aspects of Rudy's life, most people don't know that along with his love for music was his love for computers. He began as a self-taught guru and eventually landed a job with Universal as a Business Services Analyst supporting the Reengineering clients. It wasn't long after that he was promoted to Lead Analyst and Project Manager for one of the major automation and enterprise improvements occurring within Universal at that time.

Rudy found a way to contribute his talents on a different level and even though the music slowed down, it never left his soul. He retraced his DJ'ing roots and emceed all around the greater Los Angeles area. He was once quoted as saying "I don't know what happens, but my voice or something works people into a frenzy...the crowd does anything I say...it's like magic...I love it!" (Obituary).

On August 30, 1998, my life changed forever because I lost one of the closest friends that I've ever had. Rudy died due to a freak scuba diving accident. As crazy as it may seem, I got a chance to see Rudy less than a month before he died. We met for lunch during a lay-over flight and I was telling him how our busy schedules kept us from talking like we use to and how we needed to do better about keeping in touch and he said "Chadwick (which is what he called me), you're right. We do need to". We ate, hugged and I never saw him again.

What Rudy's life and legacy says to us is how it is never too late for change and how we are the owners of our lives instead of our lives owning us. He took control of his destiny and in the end, Rudy was not only a success as a performer but he was a success as a man. We miss you Rudy.

Phyllis Hyman was the type of person that you felt you personally knew because you could relate to her music so much. She was the type of singer that poured her heart and soul into every song and every performance.

She was born in Philadelphia, PA and over the span of a 24 year career, Phyllis worked with major players such as Norman Connors, Narada Michael Walden, Mtume and Michael Henderson.

Phyllis had a magical way of rocking you in an up tempo jam like You Know How To Love Me and Riding The Tiger and then breaking it down on the ballads like Betcha By Golly Wow and Living All Alone.

Sadly, Phyllis left us on June 30, 1995, just 5 days before her 46th birthday. She was a classy lady in a class by herself. When told by a reporter once that her last name was unusual, she responded "But you remember it though, don't you, honey?" Phyllis Hyman: A name that none of us who knew her personally or musically will ever be able to forget. We miss you Phyllis.

I was in the car driving and on the radio a hear a man singing "You are my friend. I never knew till then" and all through the song, he just kills it and the memories for me began to flow like water on a hot summer day and instantaneously I am back in San Francisco, the year is 1979 and Sylvester owns the era. Forget what you heard, he was the "Queen" of disco. Born September of 1944, Sylvester James was a trendsetter who earned his respect as an artist because he was talented, comfortable in his skin and well supported by his fans both gay and straight. He was no stranger to hitting the top of the charts and his songs Mighty Real and Dance Disco Heat were in heavy rotation.

When people describe Sylvester, they use words like fabulous and fierce and after his death on December 16, 1988 he is still holding his title. He once told his audience "Sometimes folks make us feel strange, but those folks, they'll just have to catch up." He was a confident and courageous man who danced to the beat of his own drum and though his life we all have learned the true meaning of "keeping it real". Sylvester, we miss you!

There's no way that I could pay homage to artist without including Minnie Riperton. Although I was 10 when she died on July 12, 1979, I can remember hearing the news like it was yesterday. I remember thinking "that's the lady with the voice like butterfly's". Soft, gentle, beautiful was what I heard when she sang and if I had a nickel for everyone of my nutty friends who swore they could hit that note on Loving You, I'd be rich! I knew better than to even try. To this day, many singers have made attempts to sing that song but no one has been able to put it down like Minnie did.

Minnie was born on November 8, 1947 and blessed with a five-octave vocal range. We loved her on Here We Go, Memory Lane and Perfect Angel. At the prime of her career, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and despite failing heath, she recorded her final album in 1979 titled "Minnie".

She was a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society in which she earned the Society Courage Award. She once said in an interview "I don't think that God has forsaken me; I think he allowed me to experience this because I was the one who could handle it." Minnie was a spirited person who used her situation to educate others so that they would have a chance at life that she so sadly missed out on. We miss you Minnie.

Roger Troutman was about family. He was child number four in a family of nine kids, born in Hamilton, OH on November 29, 1951 and his early years of musicianship included performances with is brothers.

Dubbed the "most talented musician" Funkster George Clinton ever saw, Roger put out hit after hit after hit with songs such as More Bounce to the Ounce, Dance Floor, Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing), I Can Make You Dance and the list goes on and on. Roger wasn't the first musician to use the talkbox but he was sho'nuff the one to make it funky.

Roger was able to experience longevity in his career and his music crossed all generations. He was highly sought after by many rap artist and once while interviewing with Wonder B and Funkateer Genius, he said "The artists are like milk in the desert. It's difficult to last long, it's very tricky."

Even after his passing on April 25, 1999, Roger's music is still in heavy rotation and he is remembered by all. We miss you Roger.

LaFace Records introduced us to Damian Dame in 1991 through their self-titled cd. The group was comprised of Bruce Edward Brodus, born on September 13, 1966 and who went by the name of Damian and Debra Jean Hurd, born on September 20, 1958 who was called Deah Dame. From this album they had three pretty successful songs, Exclusivity, Gotta Learn My Rhythm and Right Down To It.

Before the pair could come back with another project, Deah died in an automobile accident on June 27, 1994. As crazy as it may sound, Damian died on the very same day two years later of colon cancer.

They were both gone too soon and although the Damian Dame project wasn't their first introduction into the industry it was the one that gained the most commercial success and unfortunately, we will never know exactly what they could have become musically. We miss you Damian Dame.

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