Divabetic Salutes Jean Carne

Jean Carne has captivated the hearts of jazz and soul enthusiasts alike. Her Philadelphia International recordings are a testament to her unmatched talent, incorporating smooth instrumentation, soulful lyrics, and her remarkable vocal range and versatility.

Jean Carne’s first showbiz exposure was singing “Misty” on a morning radio show as a teenager in Atlanta, GA.

After meeting her husband, she joined his jazz fusion band as a vocalist, and they recorded three albums. Their recordings caught the attention of Earth, Wind & Fire, which Jean Carne joined as a backup vocalist on their first two albums.

Jean’s vocal interpretations of instrumental classics brought by Jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and Horace Silver expanded the display of her musical abilities to Jazz Lovers worldwide.

While Carne is still called a jazz vocalist in many circles, the label no longer applies to her musical legacy.” That’s how I started out, and I guess a lot of people will always think of me that way,” she told the Chicago Tribune.” Actually, I didn’t start out singing jazz at all. I guess I knew I would be involved in music in some manner. My parents told me I started singing with songs on the radio when I was 3. I joined the church choir when I was 4; I had to stand on a box. My parents thought I would teach music or possibly become an opera singer.”
After leaving Earth, Wind & Fire, she toured with Duke Ellington and signed with Buddah Records.

She teamed up with Norman Connors on the top-ten single “Valentine Love” in 1975. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Carne continued to record and tour, releasing popular singles like “Was That All It Was?” “Free Love?” “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head?” and her number-one hit, “Closer Than Close,” in 1986.

In an interview with Soul & Jazz & Funk, she spoke about her recording experience with Philadelphia International Sound. She said, “Sometimes I would put down a scratch vocal while they did the rhythm tracks, and then the arranger would come in and sweeten it with horns and strings, and then I would come in and do the true vocal. Sometimes, I would stack my own backgrounds, and, sometimes, they were done by ‘The Sweeties’.”

Although she had multiple hits, she never liked to tour. ” I usually don’t enjoy touring. I’m a teetotaler, I don’t smoke, and I don’t party. So on the road, I usually feel out of place.”

Over the years, Jean Carne has worked with some of the most influential soul and jazz artists, producers, and songwriters, including Dizzy Gillespie, Norman Connors, The Temptations, Glenn Jones, and Phyllis Hyman. Her creativity and talent have never waned.

Jean Carne is a true icon in the music industry, and her distinctive voice and impressive body of work will continue to inspire generations to come.

The Divabetic Vault: Mother Love, Jessica Issler and Catherine Schuller

Enjoy another flashback from the Divabetic Vault. We spotlight three fantastic divas: Mother Love, Jessica Issler RD, CDCES, and Catherine Schuller.
Here’s the backstory on how I met these fabulous divas photographed and how they helped me pioneer diabetes outreach for women.
I met comedian and talk show host Mother Love, who is living with type 2 diabetes, while volunteering backstage on the National TV show dLife. Mother Love was one of the four hosts on the program. She was under contract with Novo Nordisk when Divabetic partnered with Novo to sponsor Divabetic’s national outreach program, “Divabetic- Makeover Your Diabetes.” Every show needs a diva, so I chose Mother Love over the other celebrities under contract when Novo Nordisk asked me if we wanted a celebrity to join us at our outreach events in Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, and Cleveland, OH. She even appeared in one of our Serve, Taste, or Trash! Videos at the American Diabetes Association’s Expo in New York, NY.

I’m so glad I did!! She was terrific on and off stage. She lights up the room. She would join me on stage to host our Glam More, Fear Less fashion shows and host one of the six education stations, The Tunnel Of Love, in the Makeover Maze. The Tunnel Of Love offered advice on love, intimacy, and sexual health issues related to diabetes.
I hosted pre and post-outreach program meetings and dinners in every city for my national team members and their families. Mother Love and her husband would join us for both meetings (which wasn’t in her contract.) She was hysterically funny and always, always made everyone feel loved. At our post-event dinners, I made it a tradition to toast everyone at the table and express my gratitude. After Luther’s stroke, I didn’t want to take a moment for granted. I also wanted people to know how much I enjoyed presenting this program. I consider Divabetic’s Makeover Your Diabetes national tour my biggest accomplishment. And I didn’t do it alone – I had a dazzling team of incredible people who partnered with me.
My parents and I met certified diabetes care and education specialist Jessica Issler  CDCES (second from left) backstage at dLife, too. We met everyone in the diabetes community, including Jessica, while volunteering as audience coordinators at show tapings. Jessica attended a taping with two other young female diabetes educators, whom I nicknamed “Charlie’s Angels of Diabetes.” After the taping, we exchanged contact information after realizing a shared passion for helping empower and educate at-risk people affected by and living with diabetes in fun ways. I invited her to one of our monthly Divabetic Club support meetings at the local YMCA. Shortly after, she began volunteering as a facilitator at several meetings.
Jessica also volunteered as our sole diabetes educator at our first makeover program, Lipstick & Laughter, at MESS Makeup Studios in New York City. She met with women after they received free makeup applications to discuss issues concerning their diabetes.

When Novo Nordisk requested that I create a core National Makeover team consisting of diabetes care and education specialists, stylists, fitness experts, and makeup artists, she was the second name on my list.  Between stops on our makeover tour, Jessica and I created several new, original outreach programs targeting children and their families affected by diabetes with Mount Sinai’s Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Department. All of our programs, like our Makeover program, featured progressive education. Participants would travel from one education station to the next, getting the information they needed to problem-solve issues related to self-care and diabetes wellness.  I am opposed to lecture-style outreach.
Our first program, Walk To The Penguins, featured an obstacle course through Central Park that ended at the Zoo’s Penguins exhibit.
Our second program, the Broomstick Bash was a healthy Halloween party featuring several education stations, Ghost & Boast (goal setting for the holidays, Monster Moves (fitness), Freaky Foods (nutrition), and a broomstick decorating area. The program was first held in the Department offices and moved to Mount Sinai’s main lobby in the following years. The third annual Broomstick Bash was our largest outreach event, with over a thousand attendees.
 Jessica replaced Joy Pape, we met at dLife too, as the lead educator for Divabetic’s Makeover Your Diabetes program from 2007-2009. She also worked with me on another health and wellness program called Energy Up!, targeting at-risk young women. Then, Jessica consulted and created recipes for Energy Up! founder Katie Dolgin aka High Voltage’s bestselling book, The Sugar Savvy Solution.

I’m wearing an Energy Up! t-shirt instead of a Divabetic t-shirt in this photo because I was moonlighting for my friend High Voltage’s Energy Up! wellness program. Early in Divabetic’s history, I chose to focus solely on adult women, not children. Since there wasn’t any diabetes outreach exclusively for women yet, I didn’t want to dilute our message by trying to all things to all people. But I still wanted to help younger people living with, at risk, and affected by diabetes, so I channeled my creativity into helping High Voltage with her programming rather than muddy the waters with Divabetic. I had a great time presenting and producing programming for both organizations.

Funny side note: I wanted to be booked as a guest when I heard about the national TV show dLife starting. Sadly, the producers disagreed. However, I still volunteer backstage during show tapings as a production assistant. One day, the producers took pity on me and let me host a table selling Divabetic merchandise in the cellar where the audience waited before the tapings. It turned out to be a life-changing moment because the Who’s Who of the New York City Diabetes Community (at the time) attended these show tapings. I met people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, their family members, authors, fitness instructors, hospital administrators, nurses, doctors, politicians, diabetes educators, and celebrities (like Mother Love). So I was rubbing elbows with the Who’s Who, hosting a Divabetic merchandise table in the cellar.
After a taping, I invited my parents to fly to NYC from Columbia to help me backstage on the show. We would put on Divabetic and Dude-A-Betic t-shirts and head to the studio. We sold merchandise as well as offered free healthy snacks. Yes, I coerced my Mom into making snacks in my tiny one-bedroom apartment before shows for audience members!! One day, the tapings upstairs in the studio were delayed, so the head of the production asked me if I could entertain the audience while they waited. Let’s say a star was born when I got handed the boombox with the microphone!!! I held runway contests between audience members, played games like charades, and made everyone dance to Luther Vandross‘s music. Sometimes we would have so much fun in the cellar that no one would want to go upstairs for the tapings. People noticed us. I don’t think they had a choice.

The woman in the picture on the far right is Divabetic Image & Style Advisor Catherine Schuller. I didn’t meet Catherine at dLife. I met Catherine when we sat next to each other as judges for a Plus Size Beauty contest. We fell into a quick and easy friendship. She is amazing! She inspires me every day. She inspires me to create, challenge myself, and live my best life. Over the past twenty years, she has given her time, talent, support, and enthusiasm to Divabetic.

The morning of our last Makeover program, Catherine suffered a stroke. We hosted the program at Riverside Church, the location of Luther’s memorial. Catherine was rushed to the same hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, where Luther Vandross recovered from his stroke related to mismanaged type 2 diabetes. She also received treatment from the same team of physical therapists who helped Luther during her recovery. Catherine also put our Glam More, Fear Less philosophy to work at rehab. She did her hair and makeup and wore a glitzy sweatsuit before going to rehab sessions. She felt the attendants treated her differently because she made an effort.
Looking back, I feel grateful and fortunate to partner with so many women on Divabetic. Thank you for letting me share my memories from our 20-year history. It’s been a fantastic journey for me.