Finally saw this episode.

I had forgotten about some of the songs he sung...but those early videos were good to watch. I always thought that his father had the better voice, but Gerard really did sound closely similar to him.

And how in the hell did he want a "stay at home" woman like his mom, yet it was acceptable for him to go out and have his wild soiree's with different women? Either he was extremely one sided or gave Micki Howard an excuse to not marry her.

The ending made me He got bit by a bug in Africa and then passed two days later from accidental dosages of prescription and OTD meds? Hmm...I'm thinking maybe it had more to do with that mysterious bug bite and the docs may have misdiagnosed him. Just my two cents.

Oh and the sweaty teddy bears...

some other ideas for upcoming episodes....

Tavares

Gene Chandler

I cannot believe I forgot to add Curtis Mayfield to my list. I think he is one of the most unsung musicians of all time. After seeing the remake of Sparkle this weekend and watching the original again, I was reminded of what a genius Curtis was on so many levels. His career was truly remarkable. His work with The Impressions, his solo work, all the soundtracks, his black consciousness, and his being one of the first black artists to own a label with Curtom were so admirable. Yet, so few people seem to talk about him. In my opinion, he has never received the accolades he is due. He was such a soulful, funky original.

bellanoche said:

I cannot believe I forgot to add Curtis Mayfield to my list. I think he is one of the most unsung musicians of all time. After seeing the remake of Sparkle this weekend and watching the original again, I was reminded of what a genius Curtis was on so many levels. His career was truly remarkable. His work with The Impressions, his solo work, all the soundtracks, his black consciousness, and his being one of the first black artists to own a label with Curtom were so admirable. Yet, so few people seem to talk about him. In my opinion, he has never received the accolades he is due. He was such a soulful, funky original.

Excellent choice. I would sign on to see this one first before any of my choices.

phunkdaddy said:

bellanoche said:

I cannot believe I forgot to add Curtis Mayfield to my list. I think he is one of the most unsung musicians of all time. After seeing the remake of Sparkle this weekend and watching the original again, I was reminded of what a genius Curtis was on so many levels. His career was truly remarkable. His work with The Impressions, his solo work, all the soundtracks, his black consciousness, and his being one of the first black artists to own a label with Curtom were so admirable. Yet, so few people seem to talk about him. In my opinion, he has never received the accolades he is due. He was such a soulful, funky original.

Excellent choice. I would sign on to see this one first before any of my choices.

I agree. I would sign on to see him before my other choices as well. Although, I have enjoyed most of the Unsung episodes, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of a show than Curtis. He had an amazing career. He was not a one or two hit wonder or one or two album wonder like several of the artists they have featured. It has always been a head scratcher for me why Curtis is not more highly lauded. He has certainly influenced a lot of artists and his music (recorded by himself and others) is still loved to this day by folks around the world. I hope the people at TVOne consider him for an upcoming show.

Um, Curtis Mayfield already has a VH1 Legends episode devoted to him, so there's no need for him to be Unsung.

I saw a brief glimpse of this the other day but somehow thought that I had already seen it. I'll check the DVR tonight to watch in it's entirety.

Good thread on suggestions for next season. Forget about the name "Unsung"- it's a good show and doesn't necessarily mean that the subject is "Unsung"- hence, the great Sly episode.

That said, I agree with many suggestions here. Ones I'd like to see- Johnnie Taylor, Gil Scott Heron, Roy Ayers, Cameo, and if they're going to do a rapper episode- EPMD and/or Kurtis Blow.

Need to add some females in there too. Have they done Nona Hendryx? Angie Stone? Someone suggested Cheryl Lynn and I'd like to see that too.

What about Johnny Gill?

Vanity 6

Jodeci

The Boys

JabarR74 said:

Um, Curtis Mayfield already has a VH1 Legends episode devoted to him, so there's no need for him to be Unsung.

And a 2+ hour DVD released a few years ago.

UnderMySun said:

That whole "Unsung" name is sort of controversial. I consider the show more of a Behind The Music sort of thing or just a Bio type show. I think they should feature any black music artist from any era that had varying degrees of success--without the whole woeful "Unsung" thing attached to it.

The following is just my opinion & observation: My understanding from what the show seems to suggest from time to time is that artists who have had considerable levels of sucess in R&B had either crossed over to mainstream pop music either briefly with a hit or few (like Cameo or Teena Marie), or not at all (like Gerald Levert or Teddy Pendergrass). So in that context, Michael Jackson, Whitney or Janet wouldn't qualify. On the other hand, artists like the Gap Band or Cameo would since although they were very successful in the R&B world, they crossed over to pop only briefly. So while they would be thought of as successful when viewed only in an R&B context, the emphasis seems to be on crossing over to a larger pop audience. Several Unsung eps kept bringing up how a music label (or the artist themselves) wanted an artist to cross over. Remember when Miki Howard mentioned how with her first single/album her record company (Atlantic Records) kept trying to push her as the next Whitney Houston who had crossed over to pop in a major way. To put it another way, Prince 1978-1982= Unsung, Prince 1984- 1991-ish = not Unsung.

[Edited 8/21/12 13:58pm]

Interesting perspective... I agree

missfee said:

What about Johnny Gill?

Johnny and the rest of NE are not Unsung!

JabarR74 said:

missfee said:

What about Johnny Gill?

Johnny and the rest of NE are not Unsung!

If Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, O'Jays, Sly & Family Stone can have unsung episodes, then anyone is unsung.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

JabarR74 said:

Johnny and the rest of NE are not Unsung!

If Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, O'Jays, Sly & Family Stone can have unsung episodes, then anyone is unsung.

NE already has a Behind The Music ep on them, it just needs to be Remasted, like the Rick James ep was.

JabarR74 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

If Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, O'Jays, Sly & Family Stone can have unsung episodes, then anyone is unsung.

NE already has a Behind The Music ep on them, it just needs to be Remasted, like the Rick James ep was.

True, I forgot about there Behind ther Music and BBD have a Life After also.

JabarR74 said:

missfee said:

What about Johnny Gill?

Johnny and the rest of NE are not Unsung!

As stated time and time again, the "Unsung" show doesn't always feature acts that are truly Unsung. So I say again, my suggestion is that they do an epi on Johnny Gill. There hasn't been anything (as far as TV music specials go) that I've seen done on Johnny Gill and his solo career. And I didn't say anything about NE, I'm talking about Johnny Gill as a solo artist...as he's an artist in his own right.

[Edited 8/29/12 5:04am]

I read they're already working on eps with The Whispers and Mint Condition.

The Whispers ARE unsung.

CAMEO, BETTY DAVIS and THE TIME please.