Rose Royce and it's better than digging a ditch!

TV One's music documentary series "Unsung" begins new episodes tonight at 9 (switching from Sunday nights), beginning with a look at late 70s R&B band Rose Royce. You know, the folks who sang "Car Wash."

It's reasonable to think 'Huh?' After all, while they did have some great hits, I'm not sure I'd put Rose Royce in the pantheon of acts that might have made it big if only. But the folks who make "Unsung" are a talented bunch; they've managed to make this story pretty interesting.
That's mostly because the story of Rose Royce is really the story of the musical brilliance of the late producer Norman Whitfield, a Motown man responsible for giving the Temptations the greatness that is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," among other hits.

In short, Whitfield made Rose Royce, and at least according to the members of Rose Royce, unmade them. It's a story of ego, perhaps running amok, and resentment, toward Whitfield by the band and toward lead singer Gwen Dickey, whom Whitfield renamed Rose. The rest of the band was not happy about that.
Here's a fun tidbit: Try to guess what superstar diva the Rose Royce hit "I'm Wishing (On a Star)" was originally written for.

Next week, the show features Stacy Lattisaw, and coming up, the one I'm waiting for Sylvester!


Source:newsobserver.com

by:Shital