Ryan Grovey currently is a National Trainer for the newest group fitness programs called MIXXED FIT founded by Lori Chung out of her studio Dojo 3 in the greater Washington state area. Want to know more about the Ryan Grovey? Read The Interview and find out about this passionate and talented fitness instructor!

TDR:  Ryan, thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to discuss your world with me. Let us begin with your parents. Who are they?

RG:     My mother, Patricia Yvonne Grovey, and my father Trenedy [“Trent”] Schavaz Grovey graduated from Oklahoma State. Soon thereafter they married and moved to New Mexico to work in the oil fields. My father was a petroleum engineer; my mother worked in another facility. She had a dream of working with children. People told my mother that she was was not going to make it. She started out in Washington Heights Nursery [in Hobbs, New Mexico], and such was her success that the Mayor of the city helped her to realize her dream. Her classrooms grew. To this day she owns Washington Heights Nursery, and has a staff of about 100, and has about 500 children enrolled.

TDR:  You are a major player in the newest dance fitness craze its founder Lori Chung named MIXXEDFIT (MF). We’ll move into a discussion of that workout later in the interview; but for now let’s focus on your foray into the fitness industry.

RG:     I’ll begin with school. In junior high I played basketball and football from seventh to ninth grade. Really, I was like the shining star! Here I was this little 9^th grader playing with all of the senior players. I knew early that academics were it, though. In sports, I was treated better than others; I wanted to turn in my homework when coaches told me I did not have to. Then in high school, my 10^th year something changed: I felt like I really wanted to do strictly academics.

TDR:  What are “strictly academics”?

RG:     I continued to play but I noticed I slowly was walking away from sports. I became involved in student council, and the students elected me class president. Then, I stopped playing sports altogether my senior year because I wanted to be all involved with my class. I was in charge of the senior prom; I selected everything for that event. I worked closely with the principal. Still, I earned a grade point average of 3.8.

TDR:  You graduated from high school with a strong background in sports and academics but you have not mentioned anything about being a dancer nor even taking a dance fitness class during those years. When did dance fitness catch your attention?

RG:     I never was a dancer nor was I ever into the dance fitness industry. Well, one time I did teach a hip-hop class to young adults but dance fitness was never something I endeavored to do.

TDR:  So, after high school …

RG:     I enrolled in New Mexico State University. I don’t know why but during one of my trips home my mother suggested to me to take a Zumba fitness class already happening at her place of business. Let me pause for a moment to say something about my mother: she is my best friend! She is my heart. If not for my mother, I would not be where I am today. I have seen her realize her own dream of owning a childcare center when people discouraged her and told her she would not make it! Now, she owns Washington Heights Childcare facility in Hobbs, New Mexico. She manages a staff of 100 with an enrollment of approximately 500 children.

TDR:  What a wonderful homage to your mother …

RG:     Thank you. I was home for Christmas, and I tried two Zumba classes at Washington Heights.

Ryan as Zumba Jammer

TDR:  Zumba? So, is Zumba your first intro to dance fitness after the Hip Hop class you taught?

RG:     Yes. It was. After I left the Zumba classes, I borrowed my mom’s Zumba DVD’s, and practiced the routines with my roommates when I returned to college after Christmas break. That summer, I took the instructor’s class the whole time I was home. My mother noticed and said, ‘you have a talent! You are super good at this. Let’s see what it takes to become an instructor.’ I thought she was crazy! But she and I, along with 2 other staff members registered for Zumba Instructor training held in Albuquerque. I received my certification June 2009 at the age of 19!

TDR:  You became a Zumba instructor. Did you start teaching right away?

RG:     Yes, but it was kind of sad because my father passed away in May 2009—a month before my Zumba certification. He really didn’t get to see my success! He sees it now, though!

TDR:  Would he have supported this endeavor?

RG:     Well, dad was very sports oriented because he was a basketball and track star in high school in Duncan, Oklahoma. He was state champion in track and was all district in basketball and football. Basically, we had to do what he did. He had certain rituals he required that were bound up in his Christian beliefs. Dad was like “we’re going to church and bible study” and he loved sports. He enrolled me in sports camps, and even after mom and dad divorced during my sophomore year, he would encourage me from the sidelines.

TDR:  Your mother is an entrepreneur; your father, was an athlete, an engineer, an actor, and, from my research, a political activist. You were brought up by talented and focused parents who for certain inspired your own interests. I am particularly interested in the lessons you learned from your father as he cheered you on in sports.

RG:     He instilled in my sister and me an appreciation for discipline and for practice. He said, “I’m going to make ya’ll successful, and he did. My sister is an anesthesiologist! I have been owning my own business since I was 20 yrs old.

TDR:  It’s your first class teaching as a Zumba instructor. How did that feel?

RG:     I was so nervous!! My girlfriend was there, and I was freaking out just from the nerves! That class was a success, and that gave me confidence to develop as an instructor and grow my business. I started expanding like crazy! I taught at a nutrition spot on a patio—pretty ghetto but I did it! I taught at all of the gyms here [where is here?]. I even taught it to my frats Kappa Epsilon. I ended up co-teaching with a cheerleader from Hobbs High. As my reputation grew, people encouraged me to open my own studio, and I did! My grandfather and my mom supported me through everything.

TDR:  Now you have your business. You are an established Zumba instructor. How did you grow your business?

RG:     I applied for a Zumba Jammer* in 2011 because I always wanted to be a Zumba education specialist [ZES]. I loved Zumba! But I didn’t make it, and that shocked everyone. I was like ‘whatever’ because I felt I needed to push harder. The second round 2013 I made it, and it helped that the organization outlined exactly what they wanted to see in the audition.

Lori Chung, Founder & CEO, MIXXED FIT

TDR:  You resigned from Zumba in 2014, and in January 2015, you danced right into the newest craze of group fitness called MIXXEDFIT (MF), founded by Lori Chung. What drew you to this particular program?

RG:     A participant in one of my Zumba jam sessions in New Mexico(?) asked for a MF demo, so I contacted Lori and she agreed. The demo so inspired me. I was like OMG! This is what I need in my life! The door has opened. This is my new beginning! I determined right then and that no one was going to come and do our training but the CEO! My career started in MF.

TDR:  What is it about Lori Chung that fuels your enthusiasm for the program?

RG:     I appreciate her interactions with her instructors and trainers; she promotes them as she promoted me on her Facebook page when I was going to do a master class. Many group fitness programs do not offer this kind of attention to its instructors and trainers.

TDR:  Your mother saw something in you and encouraged you to become a Zumba instructor. Lori saw something in you, and asked you to be a MF Trainer. How does the belief these women have in you affect you?

RG:     Well, mom did not want me to leave Zumba but she accepted it finally and supported me. You see, when I was a Zumba Jammer, people would say to me always “Ryan you should be on those [Zumba Fitness] videos” but I never had that chance. Lori respected my talent, and she asked me about my own vision … my own desires, and went about seeing how these could be brought about. Now, I have a national crew, and some of them are master trainers with MF … As for my mother, I watched the process she went through to own her childcare. Her determination … her discipline—all of her strength let me know I can do it too! I own my very own dance studio!

TDR:  You were part of the Zumba industry for about 4 years, yes? Now you are a MF Trainer. What is different for you?

RG:     Lori started this program listening to her people who were requesting more Top 40 music. She listened. We are people inspired. Of course people are going to say that there are millions of Zumba instructors and conclude that MF is just another Zumba program. MF is not Zumba. It is not Jazzercise. Before Jazzercise there was TaeBo founded by Billy Banks. Now here we are: MF. I encourage people to take more classes. Believe me, the difference will be noticed.

TDR:  The common denominator is dance and choreo. What are the particular differences?

RG:     MF uses only American Top 40 music. We are not Asian, Latin, African … and our moves? Our moves are explosive! They are huge and powerful! These are the features of MF that separate our program from all others.

TDR:  How are you using MF in the community:

RG:     My goal is to change lives. For just one hour, I give my all to my students. You never know what is going on with anyone and that’s why I teach to make a difference.

TDR:  What are some of your personal goals outside of fitness?

RG:     I’ve always wanted to have a family with about like eight kids! My mom is like “I want a grandchild!” Now that I am a national trainer with MF I have been travelling and training with new instructors. Right now I want to live Ryan! I just want to be free but one of these days, yes. I keep telling myself I don’t want to be an old father. I am single, and this gives me a chance to live my life … to live my dream. I’d like to see where it takes me!

Mabel Robinson as Billie in the film Cotton Comes to Harlem

Mabel Robinson. Her artistic skill has made possible opportunities to perform across the genres of dance, theater, film, and television as an actress, director, choreographer, and instructor. She has performed professionally with distinguished companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Juilliard Dance Theatre, and the Hava Kohav Dancers. Ben Vereen, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Carol Burnett, among other actors and personalities, have shared the stage with her. You may remember, however, her intense interpretative dance scene in the film Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), directed by the late actor/director Ossie Davis.

Gerald Hirschfeld’s cinematography in Cotton Comes To Harlem guides the audience to myriad locales throughout the city; one place is Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. Here, in this hallowed space of African American entertainment, Ms. Robinson (Billie), costumed in full slave regalia, advances the story with burlesque panache to George Tipson’s song Cotton Comes to Harlem. Her dance on top of the bale of cotton that came to Harlem not only entertains, the performance, also, informs audiences of the African American journey from the southern cotton fields to the concrete jungle of the northern urban city.

Ms. Robinson has enjoyed a rich and varied career both on and off screen. It is no surprise. My interview with her brings to relief an artist who respects and honors her craft. This is a story about her sheer love for her talents and abilities, and how this love requires not only practice, focus, and discipline, but also it needs patience, and the right mentors and teachers to fertilize the ground for its growth. Correspondingly, Ms. Robinson makes known the choices an artist has to make when life intervenes and changes the course of direction.

TDR:  How did you nurture your desire for the performing arts?

MR:    My nurture of the arts began when I was an infant—or so I have been told. I loved to dance, according to my grandmother. She told me when she turned on the radio, I would pull up on the crib and jump for hours. She said that’s how she could get her laundry done!

TDR:  So, this nurture came from within your home.

MR:    Yes! My mom was a single parent. Mom went to New York to get a better job. She left us with grandmother in Savannah, Georgia where I was born. When she found a job, she came back for my sister and me. Whatever I did, I had to be the best. My mother said I had to be.

TDR:  You talk of your mother with pride …

MR:    My mom was a very determined and focused person—always. She was a seamstress who tailored men’s clothes; she made the muslin cloth patterns for clothes. Later she went to work at this company and became their bookkeeper; she ended up becoming an accountant. She didn’t finish high school until I finished college, but the way she attacked things–the way she finished things–it made people admire her ability to be such a perfectionist without having the book learning. Then she enrolled in college courses. In essence, my mother guided me to look and move beyond the norm.

TDR:  Were there other men and/or women who encouraged your love for the arts?MR:    Vereda Pearson, a little short black woman who played the piano, was a teacher in the public schools in New York who taught after school in the community center. Well, mom and Ms. Pearson became really good friends. She taught her students to articulate, to learn opera … she worked with [vaudeville actor and the first Black comedian to ever appear in the cinema] Bert Williams, so she had an awful lot to give to us. She was theater for me in a sense.

When you’re 11 and 12 years old you’re trying to get into your own, and she did not allow us let up. She said “there will be no insecurities here!” Her guidance helped me a great deal to be nurtured as far as the arts was concerned.

TDR:  From the crib to the community center, the arts seemingly followed you. Discuss your high school years.

MR:    I entered the High School of Performing Arts. When I enrolled I hadn’t had much technical training. The one thing I did have, though, was the love for dance. I remember I was a week late getting to school because our car broke down. At registration, all of the modern dance classes were filled so I had to go to the ballet classes. Blacks were discouraged from ballet, so luckily I only had to do half year of ballet before I became a double major. This meant having equal classes in ballet and modern techniques. The modern technique allowed me more freedom of movement. Ballet is a highly disciplined genre, and the learning of it, as far as freedom of movement … it’s restricting. The dancer, then, has to have the discipline to get her body to do what she wants it to do.

The most important things any person interested in the arts must do is have a respect for the discipline, learn to be professional, and learn to work for quality. On the whole, the arts take discipline but the artist has to make it look like magic.

TDR:  You mention that blacks were discouraged from ballet. Growing up I remember hearing the reason was the African American body could not express the kinds of movements ballet required. Why the discouragement?

MR:    The ballet establishment believed the African American body could not accommodate the discipline of ballet because we were built with a curvature, had large buttocks, and flat feet–of course you can build up the feet up to stand on point.

TDR:  Yet, in spite of that belief, there are African American ballet dancers …

Janet Collins, Prima Ballerina

MR:    Janet Collins was the first notable African American ballet dancer in America. Later, [African American dancer and choreographer] Arthur Mitchell challenged these notions about the Black body and ballet. He established The Dance Theater of Harlem, and it is all ballet, even children doing ballet. Louis Johnson, who was the person that I worked with a lot, came [from Statesville, North Carolina] to D.C. He later went to dance with the New York City School of American Ballet and performed with the New York City Ballet. Now, Misty Copeland is a shining example that deletes the statement about Black dancers and ballet.

TDR:  You are a graduate of the High School for Performing Arts and Juilliard School of Music. That you attended these schools leads me to believe that you were/are a very focused and talented individual who knew exactly what she wanted to do.

MR:    The arts always have been a saving grace for me. Dancing is not only about steps or being musical or having a high kick. No. I found that I must be able to tell stories or to “talk” through my movements. When you first work with individuals, I observed they don’t necessarily embrace that approach, so I searched for those who allowed me to do that.

TDR:  Why the dance?

MR:    Dancing was something I had to hold on to; it made me feel good; it made people like me. Those feelings and emotions are important to me.

TDR:  You have performed on Broadway and in film and television. How important do you believe education is when it comes to performing? Is it necessary? Why?

MR:    The most important things any person interested in the arts must do is have a respect for the discipline, learn to be professional, and learn to work for quality. On the whole, the arts take discipline but the artist has to make it look like magic. So, performance, in the eye of the public, is magical. As for the formal degree, it is up to the individual. People do not think about the hard knocks; they only think of the end result. But you asked about education. I think education is important. It establishes a “fit-in” … how you fit … education continues … It’s not only book education, it is also social–how you deal with people and their energies. Hopefully you are studying what it is that you want to do in the future …

The arts always have been a saving grace for me. Dancing is not only about steps or being musical or having a high kick. No. I found that I must be able to tell stories or to “talk” through my movements.

TDR:  When cast in a show, how do you prepare for your character?

MR:    Characters, I think, are extensions of yourself; however, certain things you may not have experienced in life can be projected through your character. When this is realized, the performer has to research and get the information. Then the information has to be interpreted by the performer to establish a frame for that character. If the role has been done or established, the performer still has to make it her own.

TDR:  You are a dancer and a choreographer. In what ways do you prepare your instrument (the body) to be ready for a performance? (i.e., eating habits, exercise, etc.).

MR:    I was very fortunate because of my eating habits; diet is very important. I have a temple and I have to keep it moving. Not only do I deal with nurturing or taking care of my body, I have to eat well. My body tells me what to have and what not to eat. The minute you abuse your body you will get hurt. You have to prepare your body because the body was not built to dance so to speak but you train the body to do those things … you have to warm it up; that’s why athletes, to continue to do what they do, have to warm up and stretch …

TDR:  You participated in the era in film history called Blaxploitation, and the title caused a political backlash by those who filmmaker Melvin van Peebles sarcastically called “the black intelligentsia”. This backlash contributed to the nadir of the era. What are your thoughts on the title of that era and this backlash?

MR:    People became embarrassed and/or hurt by that name. You know, I don’t know whether it was a backlash. It was an era that gave black artists an opportunity to work. During the period I was so happy that there was work for black artists. [The studio heads] had to determine what was going to sell–what was commercial. Because of [director] Ossie Davis’s high respect for theater as was his wife Ruby’s, all of that went into his film work. As a director [of Cotton Comes to Harlem], he demanded excellent artists. He demanded good producers who respected his artistic opinions. As with anything else, if you lose respect for the craft and you are just going for one goal—the money–then you have to deal with the consequences.

TDR:  Do you feel that the the Blaxploitation era was a productive one in terms of the kinds of images, stories, fashion, and dialogue it produced during that time?

Mabel Robinson as Billie

MR:    Blaxploitation gave us a transition from the intensity of the 1960s. For some it became their lifestyles; a lot of people didn’t know where they wanted to go so the images influenced them in myriad ways.

TDR:  How did you come to be involved in Cotton Comes to Harlem? What was your reaction when you were cast in the movie?

MR:    I felt wonderful because I knew Raymond St. Jacques. He suggested that I audition for the part.

TDR:  The theater scene in Cotton Comes to Harlem is very poignant. There are so many historical registers that are performed: blackface, gospel, dance, the bale of cotton …

MR:    That theater scene upheld the points of the civil rights movement; it kept a certain respect. It made us uphold a certain respect. It showcased the plight of black people through history even with the white man coming entering the stage in blackface — there were a lot of teaching moments in there, yes.

TDR:  Your dance is what takes the audience through those historical registers. Discuss your dance choreography. How did you come up with the theme? What did you hope to accomplish during the routine?

MR:    I should note that Ossie Davis hired me as an actress—not as a dancer because he did not know that I could dance. It was a collaboration as well as an understanding of all creative energies working on the film. Louis Johnson choreographed the scene after Ossie told him what he wanted. I offered to Louis to envision moving through our history within the dance; he said exactly right! We agreed on how we were going to approach the performance. It was only to be 30 seconds but those 30 seconds turned out to be 4 minutes.

TDR:  How was it working with Ossie Davis?

MR:    It was fantastic to work with a director in whom you can find all of the nuances necessary to bring a project to fruition. Ossie not only was an actor, he was a writer as well. He encouraged all actors to try new ways of interpreting characters. I think it was a connection that every one who worked on Cotton Comes to Harlem made. It was a really nice feeling. He had all of those creative energies to put into the film to encourage all actors to go that way or to try something else. I think the connection made by all people in Cotton Comes to Harlem was really a nice feeling.

TDK:  The scene is over, and the director moves on to block other scenes in the film. What are your thoughts?

MR:    Everyone said I did a good job so my performance affirmed something. I felt there was nothing more I could do for that character because it already was notated. Film is not like live theater. In live theater, you have a chance to revise and reinterpret your character every night of a performance.

TDR:  What did you do after Cotton Comes to Harlem?

MR:    I came back to Broadway and continued to dance. I did some assistant directing. Then, in 1972, I had a son so I did some touring but I did not travel out of the country as much. I felt my son needed structure and discipline. I worked in companies that were off-broadway so that I could keep my craft alive and, more important, continue in my discipline. I was fortunate because black theater was alive and booming then. I was very fortunate because I would swing in some of the shows I was cast in.

TDR:  Define ‘Swing’ …

MR:    To ‘swing’ means to learn more than one role. Those actors who could swing were treasures because not everyone can do that. It’s different from being an understudy whereby you learn one role only. So, for instance, in some shows, I would learn all of the female parts so if something happened, I could be in costume and go on stage and play that part.

TDR:  Among other projects, you went on to work in Funny Lady with Barbra Streisand in 1975.

MR:    I had finished [the musical revue] Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. I took over Hope Clarke’s part in that production, and toured with the show in Canada and San Francisco. Herbie Ross called me to do Funny Lady because I had worked with him in 1963 at the Spoleto Festival [Italy]. Herbie Ross remembered me.

TDR:  What was your experience working with Barbra Streisand?

Ben Vereen (center) and Mabel Robinson (right)

MR:    For me it was the most fun to dance and sing with both Streisand and Ben Vereen. The quality of the [Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie] routine was sort of Ragtime-ish, and it gave me a chance to do a variety of styles. We were kind of Ross’s skeleton crew which took the edge off and gave you a feeling of importance and leadership during the project.

TDR:  You played a munchkin in The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in 1978—two very different movies from those produced during blaxploitation. Discuss your experiences on the set of these movies.

MR:    Well, Funny Lady was a mixed cast; the stars were mixed, too. The Wiz caught on. Sidney Lumet, a white director, signed on to direct the movie with Diana Ross as its lead. This production gave me the chance to explore my knowledge as a choreographer as I worked on big group production numbers. I was assistant choreographer in that movie and responsible for the choreography performed by Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Ted Ross; I would learn their routines. Louis Johnson and I had to be in contact with all of the stars, the dancers, and the models.

TDR:  What are some of your thoughts on the entertainment industry today?

 MR:    I strongly believe that we must keep Black Theater going! Collaborations in theater are so important. If we can just think about opening ourselves up to the possibilities, there will be a great future for the arts. I am glad to see that the young people are so free and doing what they do and how they do; however, I wish that they would take the time to see where it came from. Some do.

TDR: So history plays an important role in theater …

MR:    Those who do not take time to look at the history fall short. I believe that if you just research where you came from–even though you did not come of age during that time– you can learn. I am trusting that there are enough of young people who will understand the history of their art to get a full picture of what is happening politically in the arts; to gain a sense of how things connect. I try to teach my students that, and there are about six of them who are writing their own scripts and doing the big productions.

TDR:  Why did you decide to become an artistic director and instructor?

MR:    First thing, the body starts to break down. Personally, I became limited as a dancer and, on top of that, I had to consider what was necessary for my son and me. Also, I had to find a way to continue to hone my craft. What is more, there were challenges to living in New York City. So, I moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to work for Twin City Stage Theater; I started the musical theater department. I went into churches and universities and found so much talent to cast! As I worked with these individuals, I realized that I just wanted to direct and choreograph. In 2007, Larry [Leon Hamlin, the Artistic Director] passed away, and the board asked if I would assume the role at the North Carolina Black Repertory Company.

TDR:  Now, you have retired! Why?

MR:    As far as my retirement, it is my 77^th birthday present to myself. If I couldn’t do things that I have been trying to catch up on because I didn’t have enough time … commitments at work require me to be there all time, and I feel obligated to carry them out. I try to respond and help the community out as much as possible.

TDR:  Do you have some projects in the works now?

MR:    Yes I do. I have a ballet called Mother’s Tree which is a tribute to my mother and grandmother; it really covers about 3 generations. I want to convert that into a play. It has been successful as a ballet because all of my work has a strong movement background. With that experience, I could see it as a play or an operatta; I could use spoken word. Also, at this stage of my life, I am trying to do different things. Companies have asked me to come and create some projects but I could not when I was working. My friends warn me that once people know I have retired many projects will come my way. Now, I have a choice to at least be able to tell them “I can do it. Let’s try it!” At least I am able to say I have the time …

Richard Street, top right

It is something to think about, really: Black women who had to assume via death the custody of legacies created by Black men who changed the course of history. We know them, and we know them well: Myrlie Evers, the late Coretta Scott King, and the late Betty Shabazz are the most beloved of these custodians. The assassin’s bullet made them young widows at a time when the nation groaned under trauma and chaos.

Cindy Street has joined this chorus of women as she assumes stewardship of the life story of her late husband Richard Street, the soulful lead singer of the most admired group in the history of music, The Temptations. Of course, Richard Street’s legacy does not reach the scale of Evers, King, and Malcolm X–those icons of the civil rights and Black Power movements; however, these venerated widows, no doubt, found some solace in Rhythm and Blues, affectionately known as R&B, the music that bolstered these movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Richard Street is part of that history.

Yes, the maintenance of legacies is something to think about, and Cindy Street provides some insight into what that must be like. In my interview with her, Ms. Street discusses her life with Richard and the meaning of his legacy to the music industry and, specifically, the significance of Richard moving from the microphone to dance on the white page to tell his story in his autobiography Ball of Confusion: My Life as a Temptin’ Temptation.

I do believe it was my man Solomon (not Burke) who said, “Of making many books there is no end.” After all, Smokey did do his book. Mary Wells and Wilson did theirs. And so did Otis (not Redding). So any ’mo of Motown might be considered entirely too much or too little “Richard” penmanship for any soul to stand. But as Marvin once upon a time so melodiously put it, “if the Spirit moves you?”
~ Richard Street

TDR: Ms. Street, audiences are all too familiar with the history Motown and The Temptations, the group Richard joined in 1971. You are the person who shared the last phase of his life. Tell us who you are, the woman who lived with the man.

CS: I am from the Philippines. I was educated there, and came to the United States in search of something different. I am an ambitious and motivated person. I aspire for success.

TDR: What did you do when you came to the United States?

CS: I am a nurse—a very caring and compassionate person. I love caring for people, and that is my passion. But what really saddened me was that with all of my skill as a nurse, I could not help Richard get well.

TDR: What happened to Richard?

CS: He got sick in 2000; he was in a lot of pain. I managed his health as best I could; I tried to make him comfortable … make him feel better.

TDR: How did you meet Richard?

CS: I met him in 1996 the year he left The Temptations in the later stage of his life. He was in his 50s. He was 8 years older than me. He was very cordial … a humble and grounded person. He had all the material things he could want being a successful singer but there was something missing, and that was a family life. He really missed that. Richard loved Las Vegas; he had always wanted to live in Vegas. So we got married at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The wedding was like a concert.

Richard with Cindy Street and Son

TDR: So you marry an entertainer who belonged to a celebrated group whose history reaches long into Hitsville, U.S.A. better known as Motown. Who was Richard Street, the person?

CS: I learned a lot about Richard when I got to know him … oh, he was so handsome! He really was a homebody; he loved to cook. He treasured his privacy and he had a strong personality; he was very opinionated but very cordial … very humble … very grounded ….. Being around him I saw a confident survivor. He had a lot of respect for himself. What a professional he was. He stood out from the rest by the way he carried himself.

TDR: In his autobiography Ball of Confusion, Richard uses a variety of Biblical quotes to explain some of his circumstances growing up and while a member of The Temptations. Was he that way at home?

CS: Richard always had trust and confidence in God; he loved to quote the bible. He prayed a lot. He thanked God every day for what we had and for what we do. Every Sunday he would watch Christian television. He loved Gospel music. He would tell me, “I prayed for a woman like you; I prayed for a woman to understand me.” We enjoyed church; and we watched the Christian television and we talked about the message we heard for that day. I am a Catholic, and we enjoyed a very good spiritual connection.

TDR: How did he develop such a strong spiritual life?

CS: God touched his life. The life as a Temptation was glamorous but that was materialistic part of that life. He felt God was calling him to change and to be who he was and to get closer to him. Richard really wanted to be a responsible person as a performer and as a father.

TDR: What was your impression of Motown?

CS: I loved them! I met Berry Gordy. When my husband passed away they gave a tribute to my husband. They were all sweet; very nice. They felt like family. When we first got together, he took me to Detroit and he took me to the house, the playground the park, the diner …

“Whether you lived down in the valley or upon a hill, you knew ‘my girl’ lived in a ‘psychedelic shack.’ And just because ‘beauty’s only skin deep,’ you could care less if hers or your ‘papa was a rollin’ stone.’ Music defined the vocabulary of a Pepsi generation, and Motown had replaced Webster as the country’s lexicographer and poet laureate.”
~ Richard Street

TDR: How did you feel about the music he made?

CS: It was amazing music! I enjoyed it and I was very proud of it. I danced to it. I was a young teenager singing their Temptations songs. The music lingers on and on. Everybody knows it. For me, as a regular person, their music is very strong and powerful. That group gave meaning to the lives of people especially the baby boomers. There always is a connection somewhere in their music.

Our fans treated us like modern-day Greek gods. I mean Mt. Olympus didn’t have anything on Detroit’s Motown.
~ Richard Street

TDR: Did Richard ever give you his opinions about the popular music being made today?

CS: Well, he always said when he heard Hip Hop there is no respect in that music; there is no meaning. Our music, he would say, sent love and a lot of meaning to it. He believed his music helped people … poor and rich. It could touch people everywhere. He was very proud of that fact and proud to be a part of it.

TDR: What is the most memorable story he told you about his life?

CS: The story about how they all started in the little house in Hitsville. I asked, “how could all of these people fit into this little house?” He said it was all about quality control.

TDR: What are some of the conversations he would have with you about being a member of The Temptations?

Richard Street far right

CS: Yes, he did talk about his life with The Temptations. He enjoyed the group; it was like a family because they were all together. But there was another side of the story: being a member was a job for him to do and it made it possible for him to have everything materially he wanted–the fame, the fortune … He met everyone from all walks of life such as the president, Prince Charles. But the life of The Temptations … there were sacrifices ….

But my story is not told to impress or depress. It’s not about a biblical Job and what it is to suffer. It’s simply about a job (as in employment) of biblical proportions. If you were a young adult in the mid 1960s or ’70s, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Being a Temptation was “heavenly.”
~ Richard Street

TDR: Did Richard ever talk to you about his former wives or girlfriends?

CS: He did not want to talk about his other women. He would tell me that I was his wife and that his life was with me now in the present. They are in the past, and his present was happy with me. It would upset him if I asked about them so I learned my lesson. What mattered to Richard was his peace of mind.

“The story I’m here to tell is not about feeding the hunger for gossip. Neither is it meant to scratch the itching ear of that inquiring mind that wants to know the dirty lowdown some fifty years after the fact. If you are looking for titillation, keep on truckin’, baby. There’s no tit for tat to suck on here.”
~ Richard Street

TDR: Did you and Richard have children together?

CS: We decided not to have children because we were in our prime. We both came into the marriage with children so we had a ball on all holidays. He loved the family life—those who would love and respect him for whom he was and accept him as a regular person. When he got sick all of my children were with him.

TDR: He has 4 children but he does not mention them in the book …

CS: Whatever is in the book is what he wanted the public to know. He interacted with his children. We bought a house in Vegas; they were in Detroit, Michigan.

TDR: Richard writes his life story but passes on before it is published. Why was writing his autobiography Ball of Confusion: My Life As a Temptin’ Temptation so important to him? …

CS: It was important to him to tell his story. He said to me, “Baby, I am the only one alive who can tell the story. I want to have a closure. I need closure.” I promised him … when he passed away, I said “Papa, I promise you that book will be out.” That’s what I told him. The day after he died I called the owner of the publishing house and that’s it … it happened. The book is out.

Unfortunately, a lot of the books that have been written about the Motown era stifle the reader’s spiritual growth. Yes, there were temptations in the spiritual sense of the Word. But there were also the triumphs in the same spiritual sense that have yet to be heard.
~ Richard Street

TDR: What are you memories when you think of Richard Street?

CS: When I go got the cemetery to visit my husband I know his music lingers on through the world and to everybody. There is always THAT memory, and it is the greatest of all.

Richard Street
1942-2013
Rest in Peace

On February 27, 2013, the singer died of respiratory failure caused by emphysema after performing 45 shows in the United Kingdom. He collaborated with Gary Flanigan, on his autobiography but he would not live to see it published. Death held sway until Cindy made this promise to her husband: “I will always take care of you. I will make sure your book will be published because that is your dream.” In 2014, Ball of Confusion: My Life As a Temptin’ Temptation (with Gary Flanigan), was published by Tate publishers. Street summarized his dance on the white page as, “a passion play of biblical proportions for all who felt the spirit of music made flesh through the rhythm and the blues of the body, mind, and soul.”