By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 08:13 am:

IT WAS MENTIONED DURING ONE OF THE BREAKS IN THE PBS SPECIAL THAT ARETHA WEARS A MONEY BELT,YOU MEAN THAT THE QUEEN HAS NO ONE IN HER ROAD CREW THAT'S TRUSTWORTHY ENOUGH TO LOOK AFTER THE LOOT OR IS SHE JUST PARANOID ABOUT SUCH THINGS?

By Horse (159.53.32.41) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 09:26 am:

R&B,

Who was that mentioned by and during what point of the show?

By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 09:35 am:

THE GUY WHO PUTS THE SHOWS TOGETHER,I DON'T REMEMBER HIS NAME.

By Horse (159.53.32.41) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 09:41 am:

T.J. Lubinski...? Do you think he was just kidding or serious?

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 11:34 am:

I THINK HE WAS SERIOUS,HE WAS RELATING WHAT HE HAD HEARD.

By Poofy (67.38.4.85) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 11:44 am:

That is so "ghetto"

By Lynn Bruce (65.60.202.214) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 11:56 am:

Sounds like a street smart choice to me.Theres nothing worse then finishing your gig and finding out that some sticky-fingered A.H. back-stage ripped you off.

By Steve Litos (209.100.86.4) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 02:14 pm:

I'm sure Aretha plays many concerts & deals with all types of promoters. I bet she has been burned in the past and will not be again.

By STUBASS (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 02:17 pm:

AND FROM MY UNDERSTANDING FROM PERSONAL ACCOUNTS...THE "QUEEN OF SOUL" HAS DONE SOME "BURNING OF HER OWN!!!...STU

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 02:37 pm:

Which brings up the question....
....Where did Chuck Berry put his cash?

By fayette (64.12.97.7) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 03:04 pm:

really stubass,but to disclose where her money
is kept is a wee bit personal.

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 03:24 pm:

LOL - Stubass, that was a low fire blow. (LOL)

I think it's smart to wear a money belt. Men have done that for centuries.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 03:35 pm:

Doug:
I worked for a radio station that sponsored a Chuck Berry concert in 1985. This from what I've been told has been his routine for years.

He arrived at the venue (the Downtown Rochester Festival Tent, in this case) in a silver Ford LTD Crown Victoria (his preference). He took his Gibson guitar out of the trunk (no guitar case!), saw the promoter who handed him a suitcase with cash (he gets paid before he goes on stage). Chuck counts the money, locks it in the trunk of the car, goes on stage to perform (he uses pick-up bands in each town). After the gig, he goes into the trunk, counts the money (again) and drives away. No autographs, no encores.
Kevin Goins - KevGo
(PS - I always think it's smart for the artist to hold onto their bread no matter what they use to hold it in).

By Horse (159.53.238.243) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 04:03 pm:

Poofy Darling,

I was raised in the "Getto" and never wore a money belt. As a matter of fact, I didn't have any money...THEN. I still don't wear a money belt. Just a holster...! Welcome to the hood..!

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 04:07 pm:

OOOOOOHHHH Horse - I'm gonna stay away from you. (LOL)

By Horse (159.53.32.41) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 04:13 pm:

Sis,

I'm not the one you have to worry about..! I'm one of the good guys. Or at least I'd like to think so.

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 05:28 pm:

Horse - I'm right by your side, friend. :o)

By fayette (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 05:32 pm:

didn't they say david ruffin had a suite case of
money.maybe he should have had a money belt

By Horse (68.61.77.137) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 09:00 pm:

Thanks Sis..!

By Uptight! But everythings alright. (24.55.6.144) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 03:56 am:

Money belt, huh...? So that accounts for the extra weight all these years. LOL. I knew she was loaded, but Jeez!

By TonyRussi (68.18.48.42) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 12:33 pm:

I don't blame Aretha, if the money belt thing is true.But it is sad that she doesn't have someone really there for her when she travels.When I traveled with Mary Wells & Cecil Womack in the early 70's there were times we had to FIGHT for our money.

By Fred (152.163.188.68) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 04:56 pm:

KevGo wrote (about Chuck Berry):
After the gig, he goes into the trunk, counts the money (again) and drives away. No autographs, no encores.

Chuck now has the money wired to his bank before he gets on the plane according to the most recent story I've heard.

Three other strange stories about hard lessons learned by performers:

1) Early in their career, Sam & Dave accepted and pocketed a club owner's check before they went on stage. When they finished, they discovered they had completely sweated through their outfits and the ink ran so the check was uncashable. Cash only after that.

2) Lavern Baker was scheduled to appear on American Bandstand and after a rehearsal runthrough she was given her appearance check. Before the show began, she went to a bank around the corner and cashed it. When she returned, she was confronted by the producer who demanded she endorse the check and return it (a standard AB practice, so I have been told). She refused and never worked Bandstand again.

3) Fats Domino was selected as the R&B Foundation Entertainer of the Year in 1995. The award came with a $10,000 check. When Fats learned that it was a check, and not cash, and that he wouldn't be given it until after the show, he refused to go on stage, even to accept the award.

By Lynn Bruce (65.60.202.214) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:12 pm:

I was on American Bandstand twice and didn't receive a dime!! What the hell???No fair.

By Scratcher (65.134.147.144) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:34 pm:

Endorsing the appearance check and giving it back to the producer was also standard procedure for the Ed Sullvan show, and I suspect others programs as well.

Smokey Robinson held up a show for nearly an hour once because he hadn't got paid all his money. From the good seats you could hear him going off backstage.

Artists driving miles from home to do a show and getting stiffed was common in the '60s. Motown solved the problem (with its top artists) by putting them on salary and assigning each a personal manager who didn't necessarily travel with them but would be dispatched when any non payment occurred. Guys like Charles Grazino. The artist(s) was then free to move on to the next gig knowing the problem would be handled.

Otis Redding's road manager once said on many concerts where Redding appeared with other acts Otis was the only one that got paid. This was because Redding's road manager was a dude you didn't mess with--period. I believe his name was Sylvester.

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - 05:51 pm:

"GRAZINO" sounds like a name you wouldn't mess with. :o)

By over taxed (68.40.52.152) on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 08:00 am:

Any major promotor will always pay with a check., the IRS will always know who was paid and how much, the act will get a 1099 form with the amunt of payment. The promoter has to show his expense for the show. the IRS always collects, look at the late Red Fox or Sammy Davis Jr. Stories always come about about cash payments but the truth is that a act will sighn a check then recive the cash. In the end the IRS always gets it POUND OF FLESH. The one thing that we all will face in life is death and Taxes

By John Lester (81.132.32.155) on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 08:15 am:

Etta James has a reputation for getting her dues.

I heard this amusing story about her actually waiting on stage in Camden Town London whilst the guy went and got the cash.

By Lynn Bruce (65.60.202.214) on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 08:31 am:

In the archives(not recent)my first post on Lynn Bruce drums 2.I have a story of working with Dick Clark and getting stiffed by a promoter that I,m sure didn't pay taxes(or the entertainers)!!!

By RD (63.188.33.79) on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 10:35 am:

Overtaxed, in the sixties and seventies, and in many cases, even today, soul entertainers were paid in cash. Many would only take cash. Some promoters didn't mind because they weren't reporting any income to the IRS either. Do you really think somebody like Wilson Pickett would take a check from a promoter in Jackson, TN? David Ruffin carried his money in a briefcase. These artists were out of town and needed money to pay expenses. Where would they cash a check in a strange town? There were no Check Into Cash places around then; artists didn't have bank accounts in the many cities they perform; and even if a bank was willing it would hold the check until it cleared. Artists were in and out of towns and couldn't wait for a check to pass the muster.