Before we all knew him as Luther- the mega superstar, Luther Vandross was a very well known background vocalist within the music industry and he became highly sought-after before his solo career kicked off.

He was once a background singer for Bette Midler. She had actually met Luther through David Bowie. David gave Luther his first background vocalist gig and Bette Midler saw him performing with David and was extremely impressed.

Afterwards, Bette asked Luther if he would be interested in working with her and Luther said ‘yes.’ However, soon afterwards, there was a big bump in the road in the beginning of their working relationship and Luther had to sorta check Bette. Here’s what happened on the very first day he showed up for his new gig with her, as was told in his biographical book…

After seeing him [Luther Vandross] sing background for Bowie, Bette invited Luther to tour with her.

When Luther showed up for rehearsal, Bette said, “You must be Luther,” and then proceeded to bite his nipple.

Luther wasn’t havin’ it: “Look, I know you’re famous and I’m not, but I don’t play that way. I don’t need this gig that bad. Back off!”

Source: Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross by Craig Seymour

As you can see, Luther was never one to let folks impose their will on him…you can ask anybody who has ever worked with him that question. He was a polite dude, but he demanded his respect. I don’t think Bette was trying to necessarily disrespect him, she just wasn’t respecting his personal space and I guess since he didn’t know her that well, he wasn’t feeling that, understandably so. She couldn’t just go around biting the man’s nipples before they’d barely said “Hello”…LOL. Bette and Luther were able to come to a common understanding and had a good working relationship after that.

Luther also had a couple run-ins with a few other singers back in the day, some of which were was also covered in his biography. You can read about his beef with Anita Baker and En Vogue here.

Overall, Luther seemed like the kind of guy who took the approach of “don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you, but try me if you want to and watch what what I do.” Luther, or “Luffah” as he is also affectionately known among us soul music lovers, is one of the greatest singers to have ever graced the game and that’s why we’ll always remember him – for the beautiful music he gave us and for the priceless freestyle moments like this one…

The post Luther Vandross Checked Bette Midler For Apparently Going Way Too Far With Him? It Was Epic appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Before we all knew him as Luther- the mega superstar, Luther Vandross was a very well known background vocalist within the music industry and he became highly sought-after before his solo career kicked off.

He was once a background singer for Bette Midler. She had actually met Luther through David Bowie. David gave Luther his first background vocalist gig and Bette Midler saw him performing with David and was extremely impressed.

Afterwards, Bette asked Luther if he would be interested in working with her and Luther said ‘yes.’ However, soon afterwards, there was a big bump in the road in the beginning of their working relationship and Luther had to sorta check Bette. Here’s what happened on the very first day he showed up for his new gig with her, as was told in his biographical book…

After seeing him [Luther Vandross] sing background for Bowie, Bette invited Luther to tour with her.

When Luther showed up for rehearsal, Bette said, “You must be Luther,” and then proceeded to bite his nipple.

Luther wasn’t havin’ it: “Look, I know you’re famous and I’m not, but I don’t play that way. I don’t need this gig that bad. Back off!”

Source: Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross by Craig Seymour

Embed from Getty Images

As you can see, Luther was never one to let folks impose their will on him…you can ask anybody who has ever worked with him that question. He was a polite dude, but he demanded his respect. I don’t think Bette was trying to necessarily disrespect him, she just wasn’t respecting his personal space and I guess since he didn’t know her that well, he wasn’t feeling that, understandably so. She couldn’t just go around biting the man’s nipples before they’d barely said “Hello”…LOL. Bette and Luther were able to come to a common understanding and had a good working relationship after that.

Luther also had a couple run-ins with a few other singers back in the day, some of which were was also covered in his biography. You can read about his beef with Anita Baker and En Vogue here.

Overall, Luther seemed like the kind of guy who took the approach of “don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you, but try me if you want to and watch what what I do.” Luther, or “Luffah” as he is also affectionately known among us soul music lovers, is one of the greatest singers to have ever graced the game and that’s why we’ll always remember him – for the beautiful music he gave us and for the priceless freestyle moments like this one…

The post That Time Luther Checked Bette Midler For Apparently Going Way Too Far With Him…It Was Epic appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bette Midler is many things- a woman, a music legend, an acting legend and nowadays she’s also a celeb’ known for pissing people off on Twitter with her insensitive, ill-informed comments.

First she rejoiced because Joe Jackson (patriarch of the Jackson family) died a few months ago and got dragged by fans from here to Timbuktu. Now, lo and behold, she strikes again and this time she just may need real “wind beneath her wings” to keep herself afloat over the endless backlash she’s getting about her latest tweet.

She’s incorporated the “n-word” into a rant about women and fans have now commenced to draggin’ her from here, to far past Timbuktu….ALL the way to Wakanda and back.

Midler’s Offensive Tweet That Sparked It All

The other day, Bette, thought it’d be a good idea to compare the plight of all women (of all races) in America to that of African American people and the centuries of systemic and blatant, murderous racism that still exists today. In doing so, she compared being a woman to being viewed as a ‘ni&&er.’ Here’s what she originally tweeted and then deleted…but not before screenshots of it were already grabbed:

“’Women, are the n-word of the world.’ Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years They are the most disrespected creatures on earth.”

Midler’s Apology

Here’s the apology tweet Bette issued a day later, on Friday:

“The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize.”

Fans React To “N-Word Rant

Bette Midler’s tweet came in the midst of the D.C. protest, that took place on Thursday, in protest of Trump-supported/alleged sexual assaulter, Brett Kavanaugh, potentially being inducted into the Supreme Court.

Soon as many of Bette’s Twitter followers (of ALL races) caught wind of her ‘ni&&er’ tweet, many of them wished that she could catch the virtual verbal beatdown they delivered to her:

@rosaclem****: To use this saying which has been deconstructed and deemed offensive to African-Americans in this country shows lack of knowledge on issues of race and concept of intersectionality. It also denies Black women agency. I would urge you to read Bell Hooks, June Jordan.

@chescal****: “BLACK WOMEN EXIST BETTE”

@NoisyAstron****: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO … Please stop. I am 100% a feminist but this is quite is awful. It erases the struggles of black women in particular. We HAVE to do better than this or we uphold the very systems of oppression that we are railing against.

Bette Tried To Defend N-Word Tweet BEFORE Apologizing

Then Bette tried to come back and defend her “n-word” tweet, by attempting to reference a Yoko Ono quote, in yet another deleted post:

Via People: Midler wrote that she “never forgot” Ono’s statement from 1972, adding, “It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY.”

And she received more of the same responses from fans, who called her on the B.S.:

@j_yvo****: Sighs…its so disappointing to see you use that quote. Women are highly disrespected – but don’t displace the atrocities that were done to black people by using that quote.

You’re gonna have to come better than that Bette…just sayin.’

The post Bette Midler Does It Again…Forced To Apologize Over “N-Word” Tweet appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Embed from Getty Images

Middler Celebrating Joe Jackson’s Death:

While tons of fans were flooding social media networks with condolences for the Jackson family, ol’ Bette was singing a very different tune. She actually celebrated Jackson’s death, admitting she’s glad he’s gone. She tweeted:

“Joe Jackson is d-e-a-d- and Hallelujah!! A monster who ate his own children; like in an old Grecian myth. I hated every minute he lived. All times are strange but this is really beyond the pale. Would Quincy Jones like to weigh in?? Always interested!!!”

You’d have to see the jaw-dropping tweet to believe it. So, here it is below:

I’m assuming Bette is bashing Joe for being a stern father to his and Katherine’s 9 successful, legendary children.

A Heated Debate:

As expected, Midler’s offensive tweet received quite a reaction from Twitter users. Many Jackson family fans quickly disagreed with her wholeheartedly and called her out for making the statement, while others said they understood her disdain for Joe Jackson but still insisted there are some things better left unsaid.

One user -who apparently referred to Joe whipping his kids when they were wrong, as child abuse- wrote:

“While I don’t disagree with despising a child abuser, is it ever okay to celebrate a man’s death? His grandchildren seemed very upset. I mean, if you were the victim of his abuse, hell, throw a party but if not, then maybe we should take his family’s lead.”

Another Twitter user criticized Midler for her brash tweet:

“You may not have liked him but his children and grandchildren did. This tweet is in poor taste.”

Another person agreed:

“This is sad and disappointing to read. Mainly because it shines more of a light on your character and less on Joe. And to your own tone of hate is also strange and beyond the pale.”

Joe’s Reputation:

Although Bette Midler took things way too far, we all know there are people who aren’t fans of Joe Jackson. Why? Because while Joe is responsible for spearheading his sons’ and daughters’ careers, he was also accused of physically and mentally abusing his children. He sometimes received criticism for pushing his kids too hard back in the day, when he was training them to become the greatest musical family in the world.

Embed from Getty Images

In a prior response to the “abuse” backlash, Joe admitted he had no regrets for the butt-whippings his children endured:

“I don’t [regret whipping my children],” Jackson said during a 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey. “It kept them out of jail and kept them right. I don’t think he [Michael] was afraid of me. What he was afraid of, he may do something wrong and I’d chastise him but not beat him. I never beat him like the media tried to say.”

I think Joe made a good point, even though he wasn’t perfect, but who is? Overall, there’s no denying that he loved his kids and raised them the best way he knew how, by dedicating his life toward making sure they became something great in theirs.’ Also, even though his children admit he was a tough dad, who whipped them when they did wrong and made them rehearse for hours as kids, they have repeatedly thanked him and said they’re beyond grateful that he went so hard on them. Moving on…

Bette Midler has yet to respond to all of the backlash she’s getting. Since her tweet has not been removed, it’s probably safe to say she too has no regrets for the disrespectful statement she made about Joe.

The post As Jacksons Lay Joe To Rest, Bette Midler Disrespects Him In Offensive Rant..Fans Outraged appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Before we all knew him as Luther- the mega superstar, Luther Vandross was a very well known background vocalist within the music industry and he became highly sought-after before his solo career kicked off.

He was once a background singer for Bette Midler. She had actually met Luther through David Bowie. David gave Luther his first background vocalist gig and Bette Midler saw him performing with David and was extremely impressed. After that, she asked Luther if he would be interested in working with her and Luther said ‘yes.’ However, soon afterwards, there was a big bump in the road in the beginning of their working relationship and Luther had to sorta check Bette. Here’s what happened on the very first day he showed up for his new gig with her, as was told in his biographical book…

Embed from Getty Images

After seeing him [Luther Vandross] sing background for Bowie, Bette invited Luther to tour with her.

When Luther showed up for rehearsal, Bette said, “You must be Luther,” and then proceeded to bite his nipple.

Luther wasn’t havin’ it: “Look, I know you’re famous and I’m not, but I don’t play that way. I don’t need this gig that bad. Back off!”

Source: Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross by Craig Seymour

As you can see, Luther was never one to let folks impose their will on him…you can ask anybody who has ever worked with him that question. He was a polite dude, but he demanded his respect. I don’t think Bette was trying to necessarily disrespect him, she just wasn’t respecting his personal space and I guess since he didn’t know her that well, he wasn’t feeling that, understandably so. She couldn’t just go around biting the man’s nipples before they’d barely said “Hello”…LOL. Bette and Luther were able to come to a common understanding and had a good working relationship after that.

Luther also had a couple run-ins with a few other singers back in the day, some of which were was also covered in his biography. You can read about his beef with Anita Baker and En Vogue here.

Overall, Luther seemed like the kind of guy who took the approach of “don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you, but try me if you want to and watch what what I do.” Luther, or “Luffah” as he is also affectionately known among us soul music lovers, is one of the greatest singers to have ever graced the game and that’s why we’ll always remember him – for the beautiful music he gave us and for the priceless freestyle moments like this one…

The post Luther Once Checked The Hell Outta Bette Midler For Biting Him In Very Odd Place? appeared first on I Love Old School Music.