Law', 'Cheers' Win Again", "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)", "How to Get Away with Murder Postmortem: Boss Breaks Down Annalise's Motives and Killer Theories", "TV Casting News Roundup: New Roles for Rutina Wesley, Lyn - Shadow and Act", "Lynn Whitfield, Merle Dandridge & Desiree Ross Join 'Greenleaf' - Deadline", "Lynn Whitfield, Merle Dandridge and Desiree Ross Cast in - Shadow and Act", "5 Reasons to Watch Oprah Winfrey's New Series 'Greenleaf', "Lynn Whitfield Joins Sanaa Lathan In 'Nappily Ever After', The Retirement Plan: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Ashley Greene, Grace Byers, Rick Fox Among Cast For Action Pic, "Lynn Whitfield's Daughter, Grace Gibson, Covers Adeles' "Rumor Has It/Set Fire To The Rain", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lynn_Whitfield&oldid=1138033912, Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2, Episode: "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf", Episode: "Who Says It's Fair: Part 1 & 2", Episode: "All This and the Old School Tie", Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 & 4, Episode: "The Mother's-in-Law Episode" & "The Thanksgiving Episode", Episode: "Model Behavior" & "No News Is Bad News", Guest: Season 3, Recurring Cast: Season 4, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series, Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie/Miniseries/Dramatic Special, Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama Series, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 17:45. Whitfield fell into a coma, briefly improved, but eventually succumbed to diabetic complications. [26] In 2022, she set to appear opposite Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman in the action comedy film, The Retirement Plan. Levi was born on January 10, 1932, to Allen Edgar Whitfield and Hattie Ellen Adams Whitfield in Old Joe,. The title track on the Temptations' album Masterpiece (1973) was the quintessential effort in this direction, an epic-length production propelled by a driving beat and lush instrumentation (in several layers) and filled with lyrics steeped in the urban landscape of the time -- ironically, as impressive as the latter was as a production, five people who were not entirely pleased with the track or the album were the Temptations themselves, who felt that they'd taken something of a back seat to the instrumentation and the overall production on what was supposed to be their album. In 2021, she co-starred in the comedy film Vacation Friends. Besides his daughter, Irasha, of Los Angeles, Mr. Whitfield is survived by four sons, Norman, of Los Angeles; Michael, of Toluca Lake; Johnnie, of Atlanta; and Roland, of Murrieta, Calif.; a brother, Bill, of Los Angeles; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Anyone can read what you share. A native of Harlem, Whitfield spent his early teen years hanging out in local pool halls. His death was announced Sunday on social media by the Motown Museum, which did not immediately provide further details. I could match him though, rhythm for rhythm, horn for horn., Norman Whitfield, Motown Songwriter and Producer, Dies at 68, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/arts/music/18whitfield.html. Copyright - Ace Records Ltd. Thu., Sept. 18, 2008 After Temptations lead singer David Ruffin was replaced by Dennis Edwards in 1968, Whitfield moved the group into a harder, darker sound that featured a blend of psychedelic rock and funk heavily inspired by the work of Sly & the Family Stone and Funkadelic. Beginning with their soundtrack to the movie Car Wash, the group enjoyed a series of three hit albums and accompanying hit singles for Whitfield's label. The trio never hit again as big as they did with that song, as Whitfield concentrated most of his efforts on the Temptations, but he used the Undisputed Truth to try out funk and psychedelic experiments, both with his own songs (including the first version of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone") and covers of other writers' songs. In 1975, faced with reduced options at the recording company that had been his professional home for more than a decade, Whitfield left Motown to start his own label, Whitfield Records. Elgin Freeman. Norman Jesse Whitfield Profile: American songwriter and producer (born May 12, 1940, in Harlem, New York - died September 16, 2008, in Los Angeles) best known for his work with Berry Gordy 's Motown label during the 1960s. She was a member of the Burlington Seventh Day Adventist Church serving as treasurer for eight years and was a Life Member of Athens V.F.W. How rich would Norman Whitefield be today? He took over Smokey Robinson's role as the main producer for the Temptations in 1966, after his "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"[2] performed better than Robinson's "Get Ready" on the pop charts. Whitfield is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. After wood-shedding on local . It soon became clear to Gordy that Whitfield's talents extended to arranging and production, and it was in the latter capacity that he came to prominence at the label. Now Wright is sharing the story of having been reunited . SecondHandSongs is building the most comprehensive source of cover song information. [25] She guest-starred as Shaunette Rene Wilson's mother, a famous Nigerian surgeon, on the Fox medical drama The Resident in 2019. July 15, 2022 11:34 AM EDT. All net worths are calculated using data drawn from public sources. Like Isaac Hayes, Norman Whitfield, who died earlier this week, was one of the Motown pioneers of epic soul, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, The reclusive genius of psychedelic soul Norman Whitfield. He was well known for working with Berry Gordy's Motown labels in the 1960s. "Where words leave off, music begins!". Whitfield's rise was down to a cocktail of talent, ego, luck and, most of all, persistence. [17], In 2015, Whitfield was cast as the main villain in Greenleaf, the Oprah Winfrey Network original scripted drama series about the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch. However, his real breakthrough came in 1966 when Whitfield became the main producer for The Temptations music group. My thing was to out-Sly Sly Stone, Mr. Whitfield said. A spokeswoman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Cent He was a longtime Motown producer and founded his own record label, Whitfield Records, in 1973. Whitfield achieved wide recognition in the title role of The Josephine Baker Story (1991), portraying the American who became a Folies Bergre star, a French Resistance fighter during World War II, and a civil rights activist. He told later interviewers that his family had settled in Detroit after their car broke down there. In 2005, he was sentenced to six months house arrest for tax evasion, avoiding imprisonment only because of diabetes and other health problems. 1 on the R&B charts in 1966. [1] The Undisputed Truth scored their second biggest hit in 1976 with the disco song "You + Me = Love", their first single on Whitfield Records. A native of Harlem, Whitfield spent his early teen years hanging out in local pool halls. - Fell in love with jazz guitarist, Slim Gaillard's young daughter, Janis Hunter. Jason, Scott, Shelly, Wanda,Taylor & Brad Stone. During the next 12 years til 1974, he produced all the groups material, including eight studio albums, and also wrote a dozen of their hit singles. Norman Whitfield Beckford, aged 97, of Hill Street, Seven Hills Estates and formerly of Matthew Town, Inagua, died at his daughter's residence on Sunday, December 12 th, 2021.. THE WORKS OF WHITFIELD, AND THE PROMISE OF A DOCUMENTARY. Norman Whitfield was among the architects from the Motown audio, from its early top being a country wide label through its waning times of major graph achievement. For all his renown as a composer, Mr. Whitfield was even more prominent as a producer and arranger. Whitfield did return to Motown briefly in the early '80s to produce the Temptations' "Sail Away," and also the soundtrack album to the movie The Last Dragon. Family Life He fathered four sons and one daughter. Story highlights. In 2004, Mr. Whitfield was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1 - 49 of 49 Total. Norman studied briefly at a technical school in Detroit before joining Thelma Records, a local label, when he was about 19. Whitfield was born in Harlem, where his main achievement was to become a skilled pool player. admin March 2, 2022 Biography Leave a comment. Had he worked for a label like Columbia or RCA Victor in the middle/late '50's, with a roster of artists spanning the musical spectrum, Whitfield might well have been cutting R&B, country, pop, and rock & roll (and vocal and instrumental) versions of his songs. Using his keen eye for observation, Whitfield found a mentor in Motown founder Berry Gordy. Hayes and Whitfield were two of my heroes for the way they redrew the boundaries of soul, letting songs thunder and swirl far beyond the traditional pop song format. Songs written by Norman Whitfield. [20][21] One critic stated: "Whitfield has the imperious aura of a grand soap opera diva in the tradition of Joan Collins. She also starred as Dorothea Garibaldi in the Disney Channel films The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2. She was a 1993 graduate of Hubbard High School and obtained a Bachelor's Degree from. While we work diligently to ensure that our numbers are as accurate as possible, unless otherwise indicated they are only estimates. Daughter Mignon Strong said her father's strength of spirit persisted through his final days. She was preceded in death by her father; grandparents, Julius and Annie Graham, William and Gertrude Whitfield; and 3 aunts. In his late teens, he and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan, so that his father could join his sister and work in her husband's chain of drug stores, Barthwell Drugs. Over 25 years Whitfield co-wrote and produced many Motown hits including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "(I Know) I'm Losing You", "Cloud Nine", "War", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Norman Whitfield net worth: Norman Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer who had a net worth of $10 million. This memorial website was created in memory of Robert M Whitfield, 78, born on December 30, 1926 and passed away on March 2, 2005. War actually sounds like war; Ball of Confusion is indeed a ball of confusion. Norman Whitfield was born in Harlem, New York in May 1940 and passed away in September 2008. After several years fighting diabetes, Norman Whitfield passed away at the age of 68, on the 16th September 2008 in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Among his hits there were the soundtrack album for the film Car Wash (1976), for which he wrote the score. When he was a teenager, he and his family settled in Detroit after their car broke down there. He spent the last few months at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. Home; Trees; . Mr. Whitfields songs were recorded by a string of Motown luminaries, who besides Mr. Gaye included the Temptations and the Jackson Five. Whitfield was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Jean (ne Butler), a former president of the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, and Dr. Valerian Smith, who was also a composer who wrote the musicals, The Supper and The Wake. : Lynn Whitfield became Josephine Baker, Budapest became Paris and Harlem as HBO raced to complete the first movie about the storied entertainer's life", "HBO's 'Josephine Baker': The Naked Truth", "Lynn Whitfield Shimmies into the Skin of Sultry Josephine Baker", "TV Weekend; With Josephine Baker Through a Long Life", "2 Emmys For James Earl Jones; 'L.A. She co-starred in the Chris Rock comedy film Head of State (2003) and Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006). Norman Whitfield's Life Path Number is 22 as per numerology. his father's car broke down there. Auxiliary Post 5319. .more .more 57 Dislike Share Save Alain Robert 12.3K subscribers Subscribe Comments 6 Add a. Norman Whitfield had an international smash hit in 1976 with Rose Royce's "Car Wash", issued on MCA Records. [1] - Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Photos by Larry Parham. A native of Harlem, New York, Whitfield spent most of his teen years in local pool halls. Whitfield's motives are still unclear - was he truly passionate about social change or just a canny hitmaker who sensed the mood of the times and catered to it? Mr. Whitfield joined Motown in the early 1960s, when he was not much more than 20. His "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" one of the most played songs of the 20th century on American radio and TV. 1972 Grammy winner for Best R&B Song for "Papa Was a Rolling Stone.". The following year, Gordy finally succumbed and Gaye's version was even bigger. The dawn of the '70s and the success of albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Stevie Wonder's Innervisions saw the company enter a last, great flowering in its recordings. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. The song itself may have said more than it meant to about the time in which it was written, recorded, and released, with a slow tempo and an ominous mood. The HBO biopic required her to age from 18 to 68. But friction and antagonism grew between Whitfield and the Temptations; the group hated how Whitfield put more emphasis on the instrumentation instead of their vocals, and that he was writing fewer romantic ballads for them. Norman Whitfield Whitfield was a native of Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of his teen years in local pool halls. [6] He added contemporary song topics, moving from love songs to the social issues of the time, such as war, poverty and politics. Both parents were instrumental in developing Whitfield's initial interest in acting, as they were actively involved in the Baton Rouge art scene. By age five, Whitfield decided she wanted to be in them. 10: More than that, however, Whitfield and his personal drive became an important part of the psychological dynamic of the label, often pushing Motown founder Berry Gordy to try out songs and sounds that he didn't fully appreciate himself, to their mutual benefit. Read Full Biography. His main interest as a youth was centered on the pool hall, not the dance hall -- according to Nelson George in his book Where Did Our Love Go?, Whitfield not only developed a steady hand with a pool cue, but a good eye for observing and sizing up those around him. Buy Meta Added by Bastien Works 87 Discussions 1 All Her accounts mostly post personal photos, behind the scenes footage, and promotions of her projects. When the record label chief vetoed a single release of Whitfield's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" that had been cut by Marvin Gaye, opting instead for a more romantic song, Whitfield refused to let the matter drop. . Your email address will not be published. Read Full Biography Overview Biography Songs Credits Awards Related Share on facebook twitter tumblr Related Artists Associated with Barrett Strong Associated with The Temptations Followed by Terence Trent D'Arby Influenced by The Coasters Is she dead? According to sources, it is estimated that the total amount of Norman Whitfields net worth, as of early 2017, would exceed the sum of $10 million, acquired by his prosperous career in the music industry which spanned almost 50 years. When Motown moved to. She was a 1993 graduate of Hubbard High School and obtained a Bachelors Degree from Ohio State University and a Masters Degree from UCLA. When it comes to his personal life, Norman Whitfield managed to keep it private he had five children but details of their mother(s) is lacking. [24], In 2018, Whitfield co-starred opposite Sanaa Lathan in the romantic comedy film Nappily Ever After, which was released on Netflix. His first professional engagement came at his age of 19, when he began serving in Motown headquarters Hitsville U.S.A. in its quality control department. Gordy finally came to appreciate Whitfield's persistence as an attribute they shared, and put him in charge of "quality control" -- he would listen to blank label copies of the company's latest finished sides and critique them without knowing who was on or behind them, boil his observations down to a numerical score, and give the results to Gordy to think about. "Marvelous Mal" Whitfield was an Olympic medalist, Tuskegee airman and longtime U.S. diplomat. His enthusiasm was infectious, and Gordy marveled at the moments when Whitfield was hooked on an idea. She eventually moved to New York and appeared off-Broadway in such shows as The Great Macdaddy and Showdown Time before earning international acclaim touring the United States, Australia and London's West End in the 1977 production of the landmark play "for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf" alongside Alfre Woodard.[2]. Norman Whitfield was born on May 12, 1940 (age 67) in New York City, New York, United States. Her mother is an African-American while her father is Creole making her half Native American. Selected singles production/songwriting credits, Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today), Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me), Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental, Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, Grammy Award for Best Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special, Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Category:Albums produced by Norman Whitfield, List of songs written by Norman Whitfield, I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You), Ain't Too Proud to Beg - The Temptations | AllMusic, "The Associated Press: Motown writer, producer Norman Whitfield dies", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norman_Whitfield&oldid=1136555329, 1969: "Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down" The Temptations (US #20, US R&B #2), 1970: "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)" Gladys Knight & the Pips (US #35, US R&B #3), also recorded by the Temptations, 1974: "Help Yourself" The Undisputed Truth (US #63, US R&B #19), This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 22:49. Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. Whitfield was born and raised in Harlem, New York. "[8] She also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Miniseries or Television Film nomination and won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Norman Whitfield was born in Harlem on May 12, 1940. Norman was raised in Harlem where he spent the majority of his spare time in pool halls. Later that year his Cloud Nine, performed by The Temptations was honored with a prestigious Grammy Award which was followed by another Grammy for Papa Was a Rollin Stone which was released in 1973. On the cover of their last album together, 1973's Masterpiece, his own picture loomed larger than the band's. Following the death of Isaac Hayes last month, it's been a bad year for fans of heavily orchestrated, epic soul. Whitfield enjoyed some success as a composer with "Too Many Fish in the Sea" by the Marvelettes, and "Needle in a Haystack" by the Velvettes, but it was his drive and his vision as a producer that allowed him to take over the helm of the Temptations' records. Whitfield enjoyed a professional triumph with the Temptations' All Directions (1972), and followed it up with his greatest effort, the appropriately named Masterpiece (1973); and it was a two-fold personal and professional triumph, for both albums featured a lineup of the group -- Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, Damon Harris, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams -- which, though well-regarded, lacked the presence of acknowledged stars Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Whitfield gave the song to Gladys Knight and the Pips, who made it Motown's bestselling single at the time.

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