By now you have probably heard about Brian McKnight’s X-rated sex song, “If You’re Ready to Learn.” Considering the class act he had always been and the songs he has recorded, this comes as a shock. It is difficult to understand the motivation.
The song, about a man telling (and showing) a woman how to use her body is about is explicit as you can get. Believe it or not, he actually says, among many other things, “Let me show you how your p—- works.”
How crude is that? Apparently he thinks it’s funny.
In any event, it comes as no surprise that McKnight has been asked to perform “If You’re Ready to Learn” at the AVN Awards, which is the leading adult entertainment industry awards show.
At last report, McKnight had been declining because he doesn’t plan on performing the song in public.
I have no problem whatsoever with adult entertainment in any form, but there is a time and place for everything.
If you want to hear McKnight talk about the song and sing part of it, go to YouTube and enter “Brian McKnight: If You’re Ready to Learn.” (If it has not been removed by the time this reaches print.)
You are likely to have more than one reaction.
IT HAS BEEN reported that Whitney Houston’s mother, gospel singer and former R&B songstress Cissy Houston, and her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, are both planning to write a book about Whitney.
The hope here is that their motivation is purely altruistic rather than it being a money-making venture. What comes to mind immediately is Jermaine Jackson’s book about his brother, “You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes,” conveniently using one of Michael’s biggest hits in the title.
It was good to hear Bobby Brown say in a recent TV interview, “I’m not the reason she’s gone. I didn’t get high before I met Whitney. I smoked weed, I drank beer, but I wasn’t the one that got Whitney on drugs.”
I never thought he was. Actually, they were two like-minded people with the same weaknesses (and we all have weaknesses). It wasn’t just love that kept them married for 15 years.
A source very close to the Houston and Warwick families told me that Cissy Houston despised Bobby Brown and “would rather have a root canal than speak to Bobby.”
THE BEST singer and best performer on “American Idol” this season is Joshua Ledet. As I write this, the powerhouse singer from Westlake, Louisiana, who sounds so much like Sam Cooke, is among the Top 5 finalists. It is very hard to believe that he is only 20 years old.
He is my favorite and has gotten my vote every week, but I never vote based on race. It’s about talent and showmanship. (Same for “Dancing With The Stars.”) Some of my choices from past seasons are Bo Bice, Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken, Scotty McCreery and Taylor Hicks, all of whom happened to be White.
On “the Black side” my favorites have included Fantasia Barrino, LaToya London, Melinda Doolittle, Jennifer Hudson and Nikko Smith.
JACKIE JACKSON (did you know that his full name is Sigmund Esco Jackson?) is very excited about the Jacksons tour that makes its way to Detroit on June 23.
“This is a dream come true,” he said. “I can’t believe this is finally happening. There’s nothing like having all the brothers on stage at the same time. And I know that at each concert, Michael’s spirit will be in the house.”
Nice to be optimistic, and we hope he’s right, but can Jackie, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito and Randy draw huge crowds and pull off such a show? It would help if Janet Jackson was part of the tour.
Aretha Franklin would like to have some songs written by Ne-Yo on her upcoming album, her first with super producer Clive Davis in a long time.
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW…that the version of “Shop Around” by the Miracles that everyone is familiar with is not the original. The group had recorded a slower version that Motown president Berry Gordy Jr. decided to pull off the market. (If you own a copy of the first “Shop Around,” you have a real collector’s item.)
MEMORIES: “I’ve Got Love on My Mind” (Natalie Cole), “Hurts So Good” (Millie Jackson), “Gonna Get Over You” (Sweet Obsession), “I Feel For You” (Chaka Khan), “L-O-V-E (Love)” (Al Green), “I’ll Be in Trouble” (the Temptations), “Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” (Ann Peebles), “Miss You” (the Rolling Stones), “Sweet Soul Music” (Arthur Conley), “Optimistic” (Sounds of Blackness).
BLESSINGS to Andrea Jean Daniels, Chris Buck, Charlotte Buck, Patricia Holsey, Tony Stevenson, Mark McMorris, Rita Griffin, Wade Briggs, Robert Terrell, Pam Woodside, Darren Nichols and Alex Alexander.
WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Do something! If it works, do more of it. If it doesn’t, do something else.”
Let the music play!
(Steve Holsey can be reached at Svh517@aol.com and P.O. Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.)
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