Celeb Reelz: Motown stars suffered abuse and tragedy

Motown stars went through hell.

Blog King, Mass Appeal

DETROIT —🎵”Baby, baby, where did our love go? Ooh, don’t you want me (baby, baby)? Don’t you want me no more (baby, baby)? Ooh, baby, baby.”🎵 Celeb Reelz released the alarming documentary of Motown Records and how tragedy struck many of the company’s artists. Founded in 1959, Motown took the music industry by storm. Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells (aka the Queen of Motown) and Diana Ross & The Supremes were among the company’s early breakout stars. “Smokey would have been an electrician if he hadn’t met me,” said founder Berry Gordy, who borrowed $800 to start the company. “He was the soul in Motown and he wrote the first company song. And, he wrote hits for all of the early acts.” In 1961, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman” became Motown’s first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Sadly, everything went downhill after that.

Marvin was shot dead by his cross-dressing father, who abused him for years. Joe Jackson, patriarch of The Jackson 5, beat the hell out of his kids too — using both a belt buckle and an extension cord. When he wasn’t busy delivering spankings, Joe made the musical quintet carry cinder blocks for hours from one side of their garden to the other. He had ’em rehearse 5 hours a day after school.

And, if they missed a step, he would whoop some ass.

Florence Ballard of The Supremes went through hell and back before passing away at age 32. Florence was raped by a friend when she was 17. And, her alcoholism caused all kinds of problems within the group. Florence suffered a failed solo career, and she was relegated to accepting food stamps and welfare. “My Guy” singer Mary Wells went through hell too.

In 1961, she married Motown background singer Herman Griffin, who cheated on her.

She divorced his black ass two years later after he forced her to undergo a pair of abortions to safeguard her career.

In 1964, Mary became the first artist to sue Motown. “I had made a lot of money for the company, and I had nothing to show for it,” she said. In 1966, Mary married Cecil Womack from the Valentinos. They had 3 children. But Mary cheated on Cecil with his own brother, Curtis. She felt so much guilt, she attempted suicide in 1977. “Cecil was suffering; Curtis was suffering; I was suffering; I just couldn’t take it,” Mary explained. That same year, she divorced Cecil and moved in with Curtis; they had a child together.

By 1978, Mary was addicted to heroin and cocaine.

“I used drugs for relief, like so many other people do but never talk about it,” she said.

Mary also lost her voice due to years of smoking cigarettes.

She could no longer perform and became destitute.

Mary died in 1992, two years after being diagnosed with larynx cancer.

Tammi Terrell, best known for her “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” duet with Marvin, was only 24 when she kicked the bucket. She was in an abusive relationship with James Brown, who pummeled her repeatedly. Then she hooked up with Temptations singer David Ruffin, who also beat her ass. He bashed Tammi in the head with a hammer and hit her in the face with a motorcycle helmet.

In 1967, Tammi fainted on stage and fell into Marvin’s arms.

She was later diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

By 1970, Tammi was confined to a wheelchair and she weighed a measly 93 pounds.

She also lost her eyesight, and her scalp was depilated.

Tammi died on March 16, 1970.

The DeBarge family went through so much hell, you gotta wonder if a curse was involved. The band “Switch,” the group “DeBarge” and solo artist Chico DeBarge comprised the family brand. Heroin addict Bobby DeBarge, who was in “Switch,” received a 5-year prison sentence in 1988 for drug trafficking. He also contracted HIV and died of AIDS in 1995.

Bunny DeBarge, who was sexy as hell, battled drug addiction and breast cancer.

In 1986, El DeBarge pleaded “no contest” after a woman claimed he pulled her hair, dragged her to the floor, and hit her when she refused to give him a piece of ass. El was fined and sentenced to 200 hours of community service. The “Rhythm of the Night” singer was also guilty of not wearing a condom. El smashed so many chicks, he ended up with 12 kids.

His heroin addiction led to bouts of homelessness and a 13-month prison stint.

El was busted for selling drugs in 2012.

And last, but not least… Paul Williams, a founding member of The Temptations, self-medicated with booze to cope with sickle cell anemia.

Scuttlebutt has it he drunk 2 to 3 fifths of a bottle of Courvoisier per day.

Goddamn!

Paul was found dead in a car parked in an alley.

A gun was adjacent to his cadaver.

His death was ruled a suicide.

What’s my take?

Seems since slavery, followed by the civil rights movement, too many mofos beat the sh*t out of their kids without expressing love.

Those same individuals have also failed to teach children the importance of establishing good credit, obeying the law, and building good relationships — both professionally and romantically.

That’s why marriage rates are low and incarceration numbers are high.

Look, beating up a kid is easy.

It’s also cowardly.

Little people can’t fight back.

Ditto for women in domestic situations.

If you love a child, the modus operandi should entail helping him or her become successful.

Me personally, I’ve never received a spanking from a man.

My dad never whooped me.

My uncles never whooped me.

Only my mom and her sisters whooped my ass — which was hella confusing because disciplinary action is traditionally a man’s job.

I guess what I’m trying to say is there’s too much beating and not enough teaching.

As a society, we simply must do better.

Watch the disturbing documentary.

Share your thoughts.