“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” creator, Gill Scott-Heron, had a daughter with an actress from Good Times. Most people knew he had a daughter, but many of us missed that his daughter was with an actress we were watching on TV and in some classic Old School 70’s movies.

Her name is not a household name, but if you’re a fan of Good Times or Black 70’s films, you will easily recognize her face. Their daughter is now following in her Father’s path and she is 40 years old. Scroll down to see who the actress is…

Gil Scott-Heron’s ex-wife wife, and mother of his daughter, is actress Brenda Sykes! She wasn’t a Good Times regular, but her appearance on the show was very memorable. Remember she played “Mandy,” “JJ’s” girlfriend in the episode where “Penny” set the couch on fire? The year was 1978 and everybody was going crazy over the pretty chick “Mandy” who was loving on “JJ.”

You may also remember Brenda Sykes for her role as “Ellen,” the slave who was having a weird love affair with her slave owner, “Hammond,” in the 1975 film, Mandingo.

You may also remember Brenda Sykes for her role as Jim Brown’s character, “Gunn’s” love interest in the 1972 film, Black Gunn; as “Tiffany,” who was “Doodlebug’s” (played by Antonio Fargas) woman in the 1973 movie, Cleopatra; and as “Calinda,” the slave whom was the love interest of a fellow slave, “Drum” in the 1975 film, Drum. She’s starred in several other roles throughout the 70’s but those were the ones Brenda is most known for.

Gil Scott-Heron and Brenda were married from 1978 to 1987.

Their daughter is a poet by the name of Gia Scott-Heron and she’s now 40 years old.

Their Daughter Then…

If you recall, Gill Scott-Heron had his precious little baby girl, Gia, on the cover of his 1980 album, Real Eyes. He also dedicated the song, “Your Daddy Loves You,” to Gia on that same album.

Their Daughter As An Adult…

Like we mentioned earlier, Gia is continuing her father’s legacy with her love of poetry- a trait she clearly inherited from her Pops. Check out Gia reciting one of her powerful poems below.

As far as Brenda Sykes, she remarried in 1995 to her husband, Paul C. Hudson. She now lives a quiet life far away from the entertainment industry, but she did resurface to speak at Gil Scott-Heron’s funeral. At the funeral she told a couple interesting stories about Gill Scott, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Stevie Wonder:

‘Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who introduced her to Scott-Heron) and the poet’s friendship with Stevie Wonder. She told about how Wonder wanted to dance on stage, but didn’t trusted anyone to keep him from bumping into things. He trusted Scott-Heron though. “Gil led Stevie in a conga line,” she said, and added that they toured together after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in an effort to create the federal holiday in his memory.’ via ifc

And there you have it ILOSM family. We learn something new everyday around these parts. Now let’s end this thing with Gil Scott-Heron’s CLASSIC, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and reminisce about the days when music actually had powerful messages that fed the souls of the people.

The post Music Legend Gil Scott-Heron Married A “Good Times” Actress & They Have A Daughter appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In the wake of the tragic shootings of 6 Baton Rouge, La. police officers, 3 of them murdered by gunmen, Gavin Long, America has once again gotten a wake up call in the worst way possible. It seems like 70’s poet/singer, Gil Scott-Heron’s, words of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” are now coming off of the wax and into life.

The thousands of unwarranted murders of African Americans by police officers that have been swept under the rug of the justice system’s front door, have reached breaking points and for some people, such as Gavin Long and Micah Johnson, it reached the point of no return.

“Zero have been successful by simply protesting. It has never worked and it never will. You’ve gotta fight back, that’s the only way a bully knows to quit. He doesn’t understand words.” -Gavin Long

CRISES OF CONSCIENCE
Another harsh reality is that many African Americans are having a silent crisis of conscience right about now- many don’t agree with Gavin’s actions, but also find difficult to view his reasoning, displayed in his online videos and social media, as insane or irrational.

“There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay” -Gil Scott-Heron

Here’s what Long’s life and views have displayed so far:

• He was socially conscious and intelligent, like Gil Scott
• He was a college graduate of Central Texas College
• He earned a spot as a sergeant in the U.S. Marines
• Was not irrational (based on what we can tell at this point from his online posts).
• Was always in search of understanding how American culture has psychologically conditioned African people dating back to slavery.
• Then he created his own “revolution.”

In comparison to the U.S. laws during slavery- America sees Long as the slave who could read (which was illegal)-the very thing it feared because if a slave could read, they could gain knowledge about the system and rationalize how to channel their anger into action toward freedom from their oppressors, by any means necessary. Take Nat Turner for example.

“The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.
The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers. The revolution will be live.” -Gil Scott-Heron

Sadly, those Baton Rouge officers didn’t deserve to die because they have not unjustly killed any civilians, but many would say the reality is that they were a part of an organization that has, for decades, unjustly slaughtered thousands of African Americans. Many would also argue that they, along with all of the other thousands of good cops, could have just walked away from the organization, but people of color can’t just walk away from being Black.

So after years of oppression, it seems we’re living in different times now. Our society has transformed from the days of Nat Turner, to the days of Martin Luther King & Malcolm X, and now to the days of Gil Scott Heron’s words coming off of paper and into life, because just like Gil said in the 70’s, ‘The revolution will not be televised brotha, because the revolution will be live.’

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

The post See The Lyrics To 45 Yr Old Soul Song The BR SHOOTER Lived & Died By appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Her name is not a household name, but if you’re a fan of Good Times or Black 70’s films, you will easily recognize her face. Their daughter is now following in her Father’s path and she is 35 years old. Tap that next button to see who the actress is…

The post Gil Scott-Heron Married This “Good Times” Actress & They Had A Daughter! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Her name is not a household name, but if you’re a fan of Good Times or Black 70’s films, you will easily recognize her face. Their daughter is now following in her Father’s path and she is 35 years old. Tap that next button to see who the actress is…

The post Gil Scott-Heron Married This “Good Times” Actress & They Had A Daughter! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

One listen to any Gil Scot-Heron album and it’s clear to see that the man was way ahead of his time and was an extremely insightful artist/poet. One look at him in the last years of his life (before he passed away in 2011) and it’s clear to see that his physical well-being dove dramatically from where it was in the 70’s, but his insight never left him. How could it be that such an intelligent man could reach such an all time low?

It’s often been said that geniuses are often on the verge of being insane. Not that Gil seemed insane, nah, not by any means, but I always thought it was genius how he carved his controversial poetry into musical masterpieces and I wonder if the reason that he was drove to numb the pain of life with drugs was because he was able to see the world and our society through such an untarnished lens. Since he had no mud on his glasses so to speak, he was able to see the ugliness that lies across the surface of America like a thick bed of toxic smog. That’s enough to drive a man crazy, when you realize that you are almost powerless if you’re the only one around you who…

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