In case you missed the live stream :
This tribute post is everything. To rarely be acknowledged for my influence is something I’ve gotten used to and never expect it at this point so this is very special to me.
Read it now : The Medium
Happy Music Anniversary to my solo debut “Jody Watley” released on February 23, 1987! “you know it’s funny.. funny how times flies..as I watch days turn into years..” and decades – still me..keeping it new! Thanks to those who still rock and roll with me and my music in all of it’s continued incarnations beyond my debut into the NOW!
Eternal thanks to all involved who helped me execute my vision and exceed all expectations.
It’s not years of life of music – it’s the life in living life and good music which has no expiration date and continues to be discovered and appreciated.
Wattage!
This is an honor to be included on this list. In my efforts and journey as an artist, songwriter, producer and entreprenuer..and in the midst of my career being a mother raising two children and being able to primarily single-handedly raise them to be quality and ground human beings (my most significant job/role) sending them off to college to achieve their dreams as young adults.
Fighting for everything, facing every challenge, continuing to grind, working hard far beyond what people know or see – succeeding toward new goals like many every day.
The older I’ve gotten the more it’s important to know that through this my work and chosen profession in music with this type longevity, knowing many have counted me out since the beginning..through this I hope it inspires others to be fearless and strong – even when there are times you feel despair, discouraged, weak and want to give up..keep going – stay strong.
Read the feature on Poptastic Confessions: Here
THE IRREPRESSIBLE JODY WATLEY RETURNS WITH A BRAND NEW ALBUM THAT HARKS BACK TO HER FUNK SOUL ROOTS. HERE, THE SINGER REFLECTS ON HER RISE TO THE TOP, WORKING WITH THE WORLD’S GREATEST FASHION PHOTOGRAPHERS AND STAYING TRUE.
Jody Watley at Giorgio’s the exclusive, the exclusive Saturday party at The Standard in Hollywood, where Mick Jagger and Andre Harrell mix and David LaChapelle might be spotted with Daphne Guiness on his lap. Watley is the queen of the venue-she holds court almost every week just past DJ Adam XII’s booth with her friend and Decades cofounder Christos Garkinos. Tonight, the mother of two a self described basketball mom, carpool mom, fabulous mom..” wears all black save for a pair of crystal Jimmy Choo pumps. When she’s in the mood, she’ll fan herself on the dance floor-something she has done since beginning her career as a dancer on Soul Train as a teenager. “I always have my little fan action.” the icon says with a smile. “It’s so glamourous. Eat your heart out Karl Lagerfeld.” Watley shot the video for “Nightlife”, the clubby lead single off her new album “Paradise”, at Giorgio’s. “I want to inspire people, because people get stuck in a rut.” she says of the music. “Oh, I’m not going out, Oh, the good ole’ days..” And it’s so frustrating. It’s like make new memories! Even if you had a great time ten, twenty, thirty years ago, be fabulous now! You’re alive, Hello!”
The daughter of a Chicago minister, Watley first performed onstage as a child with her godfather, the incredible crooner Jackie Wilson. After relocating to Los Angeles she succeeded in her mission to become a Soul Train regular. In 1977, Don Cornelius the show’s creator and host, selected her to become an original member of the disco super trio-Shalamar, which would record world-class dance-floor anthems like “The Second Time Around” and “A Night To Remember.” Watley left the group after six years, loved to London, and recorded “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Band Aid.
After returning to Los Angeles three years later, she signed with MCA Records and released her 1987 solo album “Jody Watley”, co-writing a handful of tracks. It contains some of her most enduring dance music, including the lead single “Looking For A New Love” (which features the popular pre Terminator 2 kiss-off “Hasta la vista baby!”). “Don’t You Want Me.” and “Some Kind of Lover.” She accepted her 1988 “Best New Artist” Grammy-winning over Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Swing Out Sister and Terence Trent D’Arby – in a vintage dress and biker jacket painted with her likeness.
‘When I signed to MCA, I didn’t see anybody like who I wanted to be.” she says. “I wanted to do that badass fashion chick that’s just different. And not everybody likes her. And not everybody liked me. “You don’t smile, you’re a black girl, you’re glamorous and you’ve got this cold as ice stare.” While in London she sought out designers like Azzedine Alaia, Claude Montana, Vivienne Westwood, and Jean Paul-Gaultier. “I bought one of the first cone bra’s, pre-Madonna. It’s on the single sleeve of “Don’t You Want Me”. I also bought the huge one that she ended up wearing, but the understated one was more me”, she says.
With her gorgeous mane, lean frame, stunning brows illegal cheekbones and ballsy attitude Watley was the perfect subject for fashion’s top photographers.”[When I first started] the label didn’t want to fly me to New York for my first layout for Harper’s Bazaar” she laughs. “So I flew myself out to shoot with Scavullo!” Steven Meisel photographed the cover of her 1989 follow-up album Larger Than Life. The video for ‘Real Love’ was directed by David Fincher and featured her ruling the runway in menswear paving the way for future acts like Aaliyah and TLC.
“I never wanted to be like anybody else” says Watley who, in the decades that followed never stopped recording, performing and changing up her style and sound. Now she’s writing a memoir, which she plans to finish this year. “I can only be who I am. Because to me that’s what street is. Street is real.” – Mark Jacobs
Download -Stream “PARADISE” EP & “NIGHTLIFE”!
55 and Fabulous!! See who shares a birthday with Jody Watley on USA Today Life: Here
Photography: Albert Sanchez Makeup: Billy B.
If you slept on the album, it’s a nice one to discover for the first time or revisit or you haven’t played it in a while. I’d already made a decision with my third album to broaden the scope of my artistry and the songs I wrote and recorded – not wanting to be trapped in the pop box and all that that entailed. I’d accomplished what I’d wanted with my first two albums and wanted to move on creatively. This album also went against the grain of Hip Hop and New Jack Swing which was the dominating sound of this era.
“Intimacy” remains a warm and beautiful album written and recorded during the demise of my marriage and a difficult time in my personal life.
http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2013/11/soulbounces_class_of_1993_jody_watley_intimacy.php
Jody Watley from her monster solo debut in one of her signature looks featuring jumbo “Jody Watley Hoops” aka jumbo silver hoop earrings, black everything – petticoat, studded ankle boots, concha belts, rubber bustier – and soft waved long hairstyle.