The moment you wake up on Valentine’s Day and realize you wrote a love song!!!
STANDARDS is my homage to many of the greatest female vocalists of all time, who sang with their hearts on the Quiet Storm. Many of these icons’ personal and professional journeys hit close to home to my friends, vocalists Crystal Blackman Wilson and Penny Wilson.
I sent them my lyrics sheet and a recording of myself singing the melody. Penni called me a few days later and said she loved the song, but my vocal skills needed some TLC. Thankfully, Penni and Crystal got to work. They tweaked a few lyrics (Penni came up with the hook, and Crystal came up with the melody). Then, my friend Ivan Hampden Jr. jumped on it and built the song. It was an amazing collaboration. I feel so fortunate to work with talented people I greatly admire. Crystal, Penni, and Ivan bring to life my personal reflections and set them to music. My friend and graphic designer George Corsillo (who designed multiple album covers for Luther Vandross) designed the artwork.
“The women mentioned in the song are legends to my sister and me,” says Penni Wilson. “We grew up listening to Sarah Vaughan and idolized Etta James and Dionne Warwick. They inspired us to sing in the first place.”
Romantic relationships play an important role in our everyday lives. But when diabetes enters the picture, it can complicate even the most loving and open relationships. Divabetic’s e-book, “Sweet Romance: A Woman’s Guide To Love & Intimacy With Diabetes,” Dr. Janis Roszler PhD, LMFT, CDCES, LD/N, FAND, and Donna Rice MBA, BSN, RN, CDCES, FADCES is available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today!
“Sweet Romance” Co-Authors Janis Roszler and Donna Rice offer advice on discussing your diabetes diagnosis as well as issues related to intimacy, fertility, and menopause,
Etta James inspires this episode of Divabetic’s podcast.
After the six-time Grammy award winner conquered her drug addiction in 1988, she struggled with her weight. At the peak of her obesity, she reportedly weighed as much as 400 pounds. At just five foot three, this weight gain often left her bedbound, and when she did appear publicly, she was seen in a wheelchair. She was unable to perform during this period.
However, after successful gastric bypass surgery, she lost over 200 pounds and began to perform again.
She told Ebony Magazine in 2006 she could sing “lower, louder and longer” than before.
However, she still had enormous difficulty adjusting to her smaller stomach. “I had trouble keeping food down,” she said. Her mental health also suffered. “I went through a depression. You’re doing well, and then all of a sudden you’re not. I thought I was going to fail.”
Etta James’s openness about her frustrations in managing her weight after the surgery has helped other people cope with the same issues. It’s important to remember you’re not alone if you struggle with weight loss issues, depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem. You owe it to yourself to get comprehensive treatment for all your symptoms—including your mental health symptoms. Seek a referral to a mental health professional to get the treatment you need for any mental health issues you are dealing with.
As she entered her 70s, Etta James began struggling with health issues. She was hospitalized in 2010 for a blood infection and other ailments. It was later revealed that the legendary singer suffered from dementia and was receiving treatment for leukemia.
Podcast guests include Lorraine Brooks, Dr. Monique Renee Rolle, Catherine Schuller, Susan Greenberg Weiner, and Mama Rose Marie.
Throughout the podcast, we will spotlight Etta James’ iconic recordings from the All The Way and The Essential Etta James albums courtesy of SONY MUSIC.
Diabetes Late Nite podcast inspired by Etta James, is free on iTunes, BlogTalkRadio, and Spotify.
I’m thrilled my friends, Crystal Wilson Blackmon and Penni Wilson, professionally known as Crystal Penny, will be on Richard Marzetti’s Soul Life show on Solar Radio today.
They will be discussing their new song, “Standards.” I wrote this song with them and my Luther Vandross musical family member, Ivan Hampden Jr. – it means so much to return to music twenty years after Luther’s passing.
Ivan and I have had professional and personal ups and down’s over these past two decades.
Thanks to you, I channeled my grief into helping people affected by and at risk for diabetes through my work with Divabetic. Like anyone in the entertainment industry, I experienced disappointments and setbacks throughout my career. I feel fortunate that I still have the passion, perseverance, and imagination to write song lyrics. “Standards” is my ode to all my favorite divas – Dionne Warwick, Etta James, Phyllis Hyman, Sarah Vaughan, Chaka Khan, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, and Patti LaBelle (who has once again sparked my creativity!)
Penni and Crystal are super-talented sisters who have survived several music career setbacks and disappointments to continue making incredible music. Their passion for making music began in Pittsburgh, performing as teenagers as The Lovations preserved a bad record deal and several broken promises to continue today. Another retro disco song I wrote with Crystal and Penni, “Are You Ready?” was the theme song for the first year of Divabeticpodcasts.
During the pandemic, UK audiences rediscovered the Lovation’s Original Soul Classics records on multiple music streaming apps, which sparked Penni and Crystal’s interest in returning to the studio. Fortunately, I was the lucky fool who called them up to collaborate on a song. I wrote lyrics and recorded (an off-key) melody for a song called “Standards,” paying tribute to several female vocalists they idolized growing up. With Ivan Hampden Jr.‘s magic touch and polish, we released “Standards” earlier this Spring.
Crystal Penny Guest on Richard Marzetti’s Soul Life on Solar Radio LISTEN NOW
It’s been a fantastic journey for all of us. We were surprised and delighted by the response our song, “Standards,” received from UK Audiences. For the past six weeks, “Standards” has been on the BCfm Soul Chart hosted by Tony Griffin. We climbed as high as #3, which isn’t too shabby!
Sisters Crystal Wilson Blackmon and Penni Wilson, are known as the singing-songwriting duo Crystal Penny. Their timeless R&B tune is brought to life by Crystal and Penni’s trademark vocal harmonies, an engaging melody, and lyrics praising the legendary soul music divas.
Standards’ catchy hook is a list of famous divas’ names, including Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, Phyllis Hyman, and Patti LaBelle. These women taught higher standards of romance to generations of Quiet Storm listeners.
Many of these legendary ladies’ personal and professional journeys hit close to home to the Wilson sisters. “The women mentioned in the song are our icons,” says Crystal Blackmon Wilson. “We grew up listening to Sarah Vaughan and idolized Etta James and Dionne Warwick. These women inspired us to sing in the first place.”
Crystal and Penni understand how love songs affect the way we love, live, and interact with one another. “Our favorite vocalists express the grand illusion of what love should be and what we should feel,” Penni adds. “We hear it on the radio and strive to find it in our lives.”
Already embraced by UK audiences, Crystal Penny’s new single, Standards, is a follow-up to their original soul classic recordings (performed under the group name The Lovations) that have gone viral and will be available on all music app platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.
Crystal Blackmon Wilson and Penni Wilson began their singing career known as The Lovations. They wrote and performed a string of original classical soul hits that recently went viral.
Their immortal hit, the Lovations‘ I Keep Singing (La La La Ooh), gains 1,000 new listens each month on Spotify. They don’t know who uploaded their songs to Spotify and YouTube, but they were shocked to see how many people enjoyed them. They hope a promoter will bring them to Europe to share the new and old material with fans.
Since then, they have shared the stage or recorded with such icons as Barry White, Maurice White, Rick James, Lou Rawls, Diana Ross, and Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions, among many others. Their sweet harmonies accompany the late maestro Barry White on his classic hit “Practice What You Preach.” The two also appeared on OWN network’s reality TV show, “Flex & Shanice,” starring Crystal’s daughter, Grammy-nominated recording artist Shanice Wilson, her husband, actor and comedian, Flex, and their children.
Sisters Crystal Wilson Blackmon and Penni Wilson, the singer-songwriter duo known as Crystal Penny, released a new song, Standards, on all music streaming platforms. Their timeless R&B tune is brought to life by Crystal and Penni’s trademark vocal harmonies, an engaging melody, and lyrics praising the legendary soul music divas. The track was produced by Ivan Hampden Jr., who scored a UK Soul Chart hit with his song, Mama’s Kitchen Table, featuring Paulette McWilliams last Spring.
Already embraced by UK audiences, Crystal Penny’s new single, Standards, is a follow-up to their original soul classic recordings (performed under the group name The Lovations) that have gone viral and will be available on all music app platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon starting April 21, 2023.
The core sentiment of their new single is a celebration of the Queens of the Quiet Storm. Many of these legendary ladies’ personal and professional journeys hit close to home to the Wilson sisters. “The women mentioned in the song are our icons,” says Crystal Blackmon Wilson. “We grew up listening to Sarah Vaughan and idolized Etta James and Dionne Warwick. These women inspired us to sing in the first place.”
Crystal and Penni understand how love songs affect the way we love, live, and interact with one another. “Our favorite vocalists express the grand illusion of what love should be and what we should feel,” Penni adds. “We hear it on the radio and strive to find it in our lives.”
Crystal Blackmon Wilson and Penni Wilson guest on Toni B’s radio program for UG:ONE on Saturday, April 22, 2023. The dynamic diva duo are celebrating their song charting at #3 on BCfm Radio’s Official Soul Chart hosted by Tony Griffin.
Standards’ catchy hook is a list of famous divas’ names, including Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, Phyllis Hyman, and Patti LaBelle. These women taught higher standards of romance to generations of Quiet Storm listeners.
Don’t miss Crystal Penny when they appear on Richard Marzetti’s Soul Life program at Solar Radio on May 12, 2023.
Crystal Penny is the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter sisters Crystal and Penni Wilson. They began their career known as The Lovations with a string of original classical soul hits that recently went viral. Since then, they have shared the stage or recorded with such icons as Barry White, Maurice White, Rick James, Lou Rawls, Diana Ross, and Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions, among many others. Their sweet harmonies accompany the late maestro Barry White on his classic hit “Practice What You Preach.” The two also appeared on OWN network’s reality TV show, “Flex & Shanice,” starring Crystal’s daughter, Grammy-nominated recording artist Shanice Wilson, her husband, actor and comedian, Flex, and their children.
It is a thrill to find that our song, Crystal Penny’s new single, STANDARDS, jumped from #5 (last week) to #3 on the OfficialBCfm Soul Chart countdown this week.
STANDARDS is my tribute to the leading ladies of R&B and Soul Music whose timeless classics captured my heart’s ideals of love listening to the Quiet Storm. The song’s catchy chorus features the names of Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and Dionne Warwick.
Sisters Crystal Wilson Blackmon and Penni Wilson collaborated with producer Ivan Hampden Jr. and lyricist Max Szadek to write STANDARDS. Crystal’s daughter, Shanice Wilson, lent her voice to the background vocals. The song is a timeless R&B tune brought to life by Penni and Crystal’s trademark vocal harmonies, an engaging melody, and lyrics praising the legendary soul music divas.
Thank you to DJ Tony Griffin and BCFM Radio for embracing Crystal Penny’s STANDARDSas much as I do. I am overjoyed! STANDARDSwill be available on all music streaming apps on Friday, April 21, 2023.
Crystal Penny’s new single is a follow-up to their original soul classic recordings (performed under the name The Lovations)that have gone viral and will be available on all music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.
The core sentiment of their single is a celebration of many of the greatest female vocalists of all time, who sang with their hearts on the Quiet Storm. Many of these icons’ personal and professional journeys hit close to home to the Wilson sisters. “The women mentioned in the song are legends to my sister and me,” says Penni Wilson. “We grew up listening to Sarah Vaughan and idolized Etta James and Dionne Warwick. They inspired us to sing in the first place.”
Sisters Crystal Wilson Blackmon and Penni Wilson understand that love songs affect the way we love, live, and interact with one another. “Our favorite vocalists express the grand illusion of what love should be and what we should feel,” Penni adds. “We hear it on the radio and strive to find it in our lives.”
Crystal Penny is the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter sisters Crystal and Penni Wilson, who have shared the stage or recorded with such icons as Barry White, Maurice White, Rick James, Lou Rawls, and Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions, among many others. Their sweet harmonies accompany the late maestro Barry White on his classic hit Practice What You Preach. The two also appeared on OWN network’s reality TV show, Flex & Shanice, starring Crystal’s daughter, Grammy-nominated recording artist Shanice Wilson (best known for her megahit I Love Your Smile, her husband, actor and comedian, Flex, and their children.
Growing up in a family of gifted singers, the Wilson sisters started singing at a young age. With music in their souls, they continue to thrive after five decades of brilliant song.
Are body shammers responsible for why singer, Mariah Carey chose to undergo weight loss surgery?
According to a source, Mariah Carey‘s insecurity about her weight caused her to elect to have the gastric sleeve surgery, which shrinks the size of the stomach so patients eat less.
“She always fluctuates and it makes her upset,” said a source close to Mariah Carey. “She lives in denial about it; she has the tags cut out of clothes, so she can be blissfully unaware of her size.”
Today we are all surrounded by idealized images of beauty more than ever before so it’s not surprising that even someone as successful as Mariah Carey would feel insecure about her image. Image shown on social media can create expectations that are impossible to meet, leaving us feeling inadequate and ashamed about our own looks.
One way to address body dissatisfaction is to change the way we think about our bodies, shifting the focus from evaluation and critique to care and appreciation.When we’re focused on how our body looks, we’re often less aware of how it feels—and therefore less in touch with signs of hunger and fullness, feelings of pleasure and pain, and even the sensation of our heartbeat. Research suggests that self-compassion is associated with lower levels of self-objectification, the tendency to habitually take an observer’s perspective on one’s own body rather than experiencing it from the inside outWe will be discussing self-compassion on November’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with guest, Dr. Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE.
Do you feel Mariah Carey’s weight loss surgery was necessary?
After all, body mass index or BMI is an important measurement to determine if you qualify for the surgery. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy was traditionally reserved for highly obese patients. If you have a BMI higher than 40 or are at least 100 pounds overweight you are considered extremely obese (which Mariah was not strictly judging from recent photos).
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy isn’t for the casual dieter hoping to lose a few pounds. Instead, the procedure requires an assessment that focuses on physical and mental considerations to make sure you can succeed with weight loss following the surgery. While the surgery may change the size of your stomach, it’s up to you to change your eating habits.
The surgery is a permanent change to your stomach, which means you must carefully consider your options before undergoing this surgical option.
Gastric sleeve surgery removes 70% of the stomach where the hunger hormone ghrelin is produced.
Diabetes remission rates after sleeve gastrectomy are also very high (more than 60%) and, in some studies, similar to results seen after gastric bypass.
Most patients who have gastric bypass or a sleeve gastrectomy experience weight loss and changes in their gastrointestinal tract. Weight loss surgery causes profound changes in the incretins — hormones in the gastrointestinal tract that cause insulin to be released. These changes lead to significant improvement in type 2 diabetes and can cause long-term changes in the pancreas that causes diabetes to go away.
Let’s consider that Mariah Carey may not have elected to have weight loss surgery for purely ‘vanity’ reasons.
Mariah Carey had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her six-month-old twins Monroe and Moroccan in 2011. It’s well documented that after having gestational diabetes, you are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that all women with a history ofgestational diabetes have a two-hour glucose tolerance test at six weeks and at least every three years after giving birth.
The less severe type 2 diabetes is before sleeve gastrectomy, the greater the likelihood patients will be disease free afterwards, according to new research presented here during ObesityWeek 2014, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity.
Whether or not she had weight loss surgery six weeks ago for health and/or vanity reasons, the GRAMMY winner showed off a slimmer figure at her hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood last Wednesday.
A second source tells ET that Mariah feels “much better about herself” now, adding, “this is a new beginning for her.”
We’re talking about ‘Weight Loss Surgery & Diabetes’ on Diabetes Late Nite podcast with music from Etta James.
Etta James is a Grammy Award-winning singer known for hit songs like “I’d Rather Go Blind” and “At Last.”
Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to a 14-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins, who encouraged her daughter’s singing career. James would later say, “My mother always told me, even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. I’d like to think I did that.” James never knew her father.
Etta James was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, prior to her signing a new recording contract with Private Records.
Etta James underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost over 200 pounds. The dramatic weight loss had an impact on her voice, as she told Ebony magazine, “I can sing lower, higher and louder.” Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Dr. Monique Renee Rolle DPM, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP, Susan Greenberg Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, and Mama Rose Marie. Prize giveaways courtesy of Earth Brand Shoes, Dr. Greenfield’s Diabetic Foot Creams, Cabot Cheese and Nu Naturals. LISTEN NOW
Earlier this week Project Runway Winner and Plus Size Fashion Designer, Ashley Nell Tipton announced on Facebook that she’s had gastric bypass surgery. The overwhelming amount of backlash she received from her ‘fans’ on Facebook forced her to to respond, “It’s My Body, It’s My Health, It’s My Choice.”
I was so shocked at how hateful and evil the comments were directed at her that I wanted to publicly express my support for her decision to improve her health.
I’ve hosted many podcasts to tackling the topic of ‘shame and blame’ associated with body image, with the help of Poet Lorraine Brooks, and the enormously negative impact it often has on someone’s ability to manage their diabetes health.
In a survey of over 5,000 people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the market research company dQ&A found that stigma affects a majority of patients’ view of their disease and approach to their management.
Lorraine and I have discussed numerous times the importance of self-acceptance is to managing your health.
Ashley made reference to her own journey of self-acceptance on FB, ” To accept oneself just the way you are is the first step. Not an easy step. Suffering through a lifetime of being made fun of, being looked and laughed at for how I appear was not easy.”
I’ve even dedicated an entire episode of Diabetes Late Nite on weight loss surgery options and diabetes with musical inspiration of Etta James. Etta James also underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost over 200 pounds.
The response to Ashley’s announcement only reinforces how very little the general public truly understands about gastric bypass surgery.
Gastric bypass surgery refers to a surgical procedure in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower “remnant” pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both.
Gastric bypass surgery often improves the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, even before patients start to lose weight. Why?
“What we found is that the secret for the cure of diabetes after gastric bypass lies in the intestine,” said Dr. Nicholas Stylopoulos, principal investigator at the Division of Endocrinology at Children’s Hospital Boston and Boston Medical School, in an interview with Healthline. “The key message is that after gastric bypass the intestine becomes the most important tissue for glucose use and this decreases blood sugar levels.”
According to People magazine, Tipton began working with a personal trainer two to four times a week, and meeting with a therapist to deal with her emotional issues. But nothing seemed to be helping and she wasn’t losing weight.
“I went to multiple doctors to make sure that I’m taking the right anti-depression medication, and make sure that my blood pressure’s okay,” she told People. “I found out that my blood pressure wasn’t okay and that I had a fatty liver. All these health risks were coming up. I was like, no wonder I’m not happy, because my body is working 10 times harder to try to be healthy.”
Tipton began discussing the option of having weight loss surgery with her therapist, and decided to meet with a surgeon for a consultation. After taking some initial measurements and running a few tests, the surgeon delivered some alarming news — her metabolism was not functioning.
“That really concerned me,” she says. “He explained to me how weight loss surgery can re-boost your metabolism and help you eat right. Weight loss surgery isn’t going to make you lose weight, it’s a tool to help you lose weight. Half of it is the surgery, and half of it is you eating what you’re supposed to eat and exercising.”
Although the criticism Ashley received is still mind boggling to me, Ashley’s powerful response is awe inspiring.
“When I realized that my personal power lies in by loving myself the way I am not the way others want me to be was life-changing. By loving myself the way I am allowed me to love myself enough to then change how I wanted to be. I want to be healthy. Not because you want me to look and be a certain way but because I want to! Getting this surgery is a personal decision. Choice I wanted to make for MY health, For my body and for My Life. Don’t you think it’s time we all respected people’s personal choices?,” she posted on FB.
LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Late inspired by Etta James. Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach, Dr. Monique Renee Rolle DPM, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP, Susan Greenberg Weiner MS, RDN, CDE, CDN, and Mama Rose Marie. Prize giveaways courtesy of Earth Brand Shoes, Dr. Greenfield’s Diabetic Foot Creams, Cabot Cheese and Nu Naturals.
Throughout the podcast we will be spotlighting Etta James’ iconic recordings from the “All The Way” and “The Essential Etta James” albums courtesy of SONY MUSIC.
