I am very fortunate to have been associated with the same private investigator and chief researcher for more than twenty years, and that is Cathy Griffin. For this book, Cathy really outdid herself. She found people who have never talked about Beyoncé in the past—scores of them, in fact—and conducted many interviews with each of them, going back to them repeatedly for the sake of detail and accuracy. Over the course of this project, she forged personal relationships with many of our important sources, not surprising considering her contagious personality. In fact, it’s safe to say that most of the people who cooperated with this endeavor continue to maintain relationships with Cathy because they so much enjoyed being interviewed by her. Though I have expressed as much to her many times over the years, I just want to once again go on record as saying that not only is Cathy the ultimate professional in every way, but she is also a close and valuable friend. Long after we are gone from this earth, the work she has done on all of my books since 1990 will stand as testimony to how much she cares not only about me and my work, but also about the very people who trust us to tell their stories. In all of the years I have been publishing books, I have never had a disgruntled source, and that’s largely due to the respect Cathy shows each and every one of them. So, again, I thank her.
It has been such an honor for the last seventeen years to call Grand Central Publishing my home. An author could not ask for a more nurturing environment. I am indebted to my publisher, Jamie Raab, for shepherding my work all of these years. I would like to also thank Jamie’s very capable assistant, Deb Withey.
This is my third book with the amazing Gretchen Young as my editor. I would like to thank her for the many hours she invested in this project. We have such a great rapport, and I trust her implicitly. Thanks also to Gretchen’s assistant, Katherine Stopa, for all of her help. I would also like to thank the ever-capable Marlene Plasencia.
As always, I would like to thank managing editor Bob Castillo for his invaluable contributions. Thanks also to our production editor, Yasmin Mathew. Special acknowledgment to Anne Twomey for her excellent cover design. Special thanks to my extraordinary book publicist, Linda Duggins. I would also like to thank Claire Brown in art, Sara Weiss in editorial, and Tom Whatley and Melissa Mathlin in production. A special thanks to my copy editor, Roland Ottewell.
I would like to thank John Pelosi and the staff of Pelosi Wolf Effron & Spates, LLC for their legal review of this work, which, as always, was thorough and much appreciated.
I would like to acknowledge my domestic agent, Mitch Douglas, for seventeen years of excellent representation. Mitch is a good friend as well as my agent, and I am eternally grateful to him.
I would also like to acknowledge my foreign agent, Dorie Simmonds of the Dorie Simmonds Agency in London, who has been a trusted friend for more than twenty years.
I am deeply indebted to Charles Casillo for his editorial work on Becoming Beyoncé. He had such a great understanding of these characters and helped me shape the way they are portrayed in this book. I am very appreciative.
Also, I would like to thank Steven Ivory, a good friend of mine for many decades. We started out at about the same time, writing for a black entertainment publication called Soul. He’s a terrific writer, and I am happy to have been able to consult with him on the musical aspects of this work.
Lastly, I would like to thank my very good friend, Andy Hirsch, for the title of this book. We had countless conversations about this project, and during one of them, the words “Becoming Beyoncé” came tumbling forth from his mouth as his best way of describing what I was trying to convey with this story. It’s a title that says it all, and I thank him for it.
THOSE WHO WERE FIRST IN BEYONCÉ’S LIFE . . .
With every book I write, new people come into my life, sources who become invaluable to my research. Rarely, though, has a book afforded me the opportunity to be exposed to so many truly inspirational people. When one considers the road traveled by Beyoncé on her way to becoming the superstar she is today, it’s easy to understand her success given the kinds of people she met and worked with along the way. If, as they say, it takes a village to raise a child, the same certainly holds true when it comes to raising a superstar. In researching this book, I learned that many people who had been deeply involved in Beyoncé’s career had never been properly credited for their participation. Part of my intention with this book, then, was to finally rectify that situation. Indeed, in the sense that this is a book of “firsts” in Beyoncé’s life, these are the people who first groomed and nurtured her as an artist, and I would like to acknowledge their assistance to me.
Andretta Tillman was Beyoncé’s first official manager. Sadly, she passed away in 1997, but her legacy lives on in her devoted sons, Armon and Christopher. I would like to thank them both for the many interviews they gave for this work in our effort to bring their mother to life on these pages. For too many years, Andretta has been overlooked, her contribution to Beyoncé’s life and career all but forgotten with the passing of time, unintentionally or by design. It is my hope that with this book, Andretta gets the credit she has long deserved for her role in the success of Beyoncé Knowles, Destiny’s Child, and all of its early incarnations. I want to thank Armon and Christopher for their assistance in this regard.
I also want to thank Andretta’s brother Lornanda—To-to—for the many interviews he shared with us, as well as the photographs he provided from the Tillman estate. He’s a real gentleman and someone I admire very much.
My thanks also to Andretta’s sister Jann Stewart-Langley for the interview she gave us. Moreover, Andretta’s nephew Belfrey Brown—who helped finance Beyoncé’s early career—was very helpful to me. I appreciated his memories, as well as those of his and Andretta’s very good friend Dawn “Sha Sha” Daniels.
Andretta’s best friend, Pat Felton, was also extremely helpful in providing many memories over the course of many hours of interviews. I was struck by her steadfast devotion to Andretta, and I thank her for her trust. Also, I would like to thank Andretta’s longtime friend, Bonnie Lee, for her wonderful recollections.
I must give special acknowledgment to Brian Kenneth (Kenny) Moore. If you would like to know more about Andretta Tillman, please allow me to point you to Kenny’s book, The Making of a Child of Destiny: The Andretta Tillman Story. It’s a terrific volume written by the man who was Andretta’s businessman and close friend. Kenny helped us in more ways that I can enumerate here; I can’t adequately express the depth of my appreciation. I highly recommend his book to any reader who would like to know more about Andretta’s life and times. It can be purchased at http://www.theandrettatillmanstory.com.
Denise Seals and Deborah Laday were Beyoncé’s managers before Andretta Tillman; they are responsible for discovering Beyoncé and then recruiting her for Girls Tyme. Both have never been acknowledged for their important role in Beyoncé’s life. I want to thank them so much for their participation in this book. Who knows, without them Beyoncé might have become a star anyway; she’s that special. But let the record show that it was these two women who found an eight-year-old girl at a talent show and first pushed her forward onto the road to stardom. It’s also worth noting that Denise Seals was Beyoncé’s first vocal coach.
Of course, Beyoncé is widely recognized for her dancing skills. If one wants to know how that all started, look no further than her first choreographer, Harlon “Keith” Bell. I thank him for his memories of those early days with Andretta Tillman, his group Tayste, and working with Girls Tyme.
An entertainer can only have one first producer and first writer, and in the case of Beyoncé those honors go to Alonzo (Lonnie) Jackson and Anthony (Tony Mo.) Moore. I want to thank them for the many hours of their time they devoted to this project. They were at the forefront of shaping Beyoncé’s style, and it’s my great honor to now credit them for their early work with an icon. They deserve to be properly acknowledged.
I would also like to recognize one of Beyoncé�
�s first engineers, Arne Farger, who worked the board for those early Girls Tyme sessions in Sausalito. He has never been appropriately credited either. I thank him for his cooperation.
I would like to thank some of the first girls who ever sang with Beyoncé Knowles, starting with LaTavia Roberson. LaTavia was just nine when she and Beyoncé joined Girls Tyme in 1990. Not only did she sing with Beyoncé, but she was one of her best friends all the way through Destiny’s Child. As a fan of Destiny’s Child, I was never comfortable with the way she was replaced in the group in the year 2000. I understand the situation much better after researching this book. Therefore, I have admiration for LaTavia and the way she spoke her truth all of those many years ago, and the way she has since rebounded in her life. I wish her the best. I also thank her for her cooperation with this book, and I am eternally grateful for the many previously unseen photographs she shared with us of her friendship with Beyoncé and the other girls. I would also like to thank her manager, Corey S. Guevarra, for his assistance.
Moreover, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to LaTavia’s cousins Nicki and Nina Taylor, both of whom also worked with Beyoncé as original members of Girls Tyme. Though I know it seems a lifetime ago to both of them, they were there at the start of it all just the same, and I want to thank them for sharing their memories. I would also like to thank their mom, Cholotte Taylor Ingram, for her time. Thanks also to Yvonne Boyd—aunt to LaTavia, Nicki, and Nina—for her memories.
Daryl Simmons is the man who first gave Beyoncé—along with her group, at the time the Dolls—the opportunity to record for a major label, Elektra Records. Though it didn’t work out for them at that label, it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying on Daryl’s part. I’d like to thank him for reliving that frustrating time for us by sharing it for this book.
D’Wayne Wiggins is the producer who shepherded Beyoncé and the girls—Destiny at first, and then Destiny’s Child—on their way to a label deal that saw the issuance of their first material, Columbia/Sony. Thank you, sir, for your memories.
Along with all of these firsts is Taura Stinson, who wrote the very first song Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child released for Columbia/Sony—“Killing Time.” Her contributions to this book are greatly appreciated.
The very accomplished Rob Fusari—now known as 8Bit—cowrote the first hit song Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child released, “No, No, No.” (He also cowrote “Bootylicious” with Beyoncé.) I appreciate his time very much.
Chad Elliott is the songwriter/producer with whom Beyoncé first collaborated, for their hit together, “Jumpin’ Jumpin’.” I thank him, as well, for his cooperation.
The esteemed director Robert Townsend was the first to direct Beyoncé on film, that being Carmen: A Hip Hopera. I thank him for his time and colorful memories.
On a list of firsts, certainly one’s first love can never be forgotten. In Beyoncé’s case, that would be Lyndall Locke. We actually lost count of how many hours Lyndall gave us for this work, all of his memories of being Beyoncé’s boyfriend for almost ten years. I want to thank him sincerely for his trust. “For you, this is just another book,” he told me, “but for me, this is my life. Please get it right.” I hope he is satisfied with the results of his many hours of interviews. He’s a real character, and I hope his uplifting personality comes through in these pages. Also, I would like to thank his mother, Lydia Locke, for her memories, and also for the lovely prom photos she contributed to this book. Thanks also to Lyndall’s “Uncle” Jeff Harvey for his time.
ALSO, THANKS TO:
Those people with whom we were close to as children have a permanent place in our life’s histories and are rarely forgotten. DeHaven Irby was Jay Z’s closest childhood friend; the two got into plenty of trouble back in their outlaw days—and lived to tell the tale! I want to thank DeHaven for sharing his with me.
Jaz-O is the musician who gave Jay Z his first big break. I’m not sure he has been given the credit he deserves, and I hope his representation here in this work sets that record straight. I thank him for his help.
I want to acknowledge Christopher Lovett, Kelly Rowland’s father. Though Kelly was all but raised by Mathew Knowles, she’s Christopher’s biological daughter and he has a side of a story that has never been told until now. He’s a humble man who, I have come to believe, loves his daughter very much. I want to thank him for sharing his story here for the first time.
There are so many others who gave of their time for this book that it would be impossible to thank each individually, but their names can be found in the source notes. I would like them all to know how much I appreciate their cooperation. Here, though, I would like to give special acknowledgment to just a few more people: Florence Bowers, Tina Knowles’s sister; Jonathan Hay, Jay Z’s former publicist; Amy Vingpitaka, florist for the Carters’ wedding; Reggie Wells and Billy Brasfield (Billy B.), both makeup artists for Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé; Choke No Joke (Arthur Alston), videographer for Jay Z; Dan Workman, producer and engineer for Destiny’s Child; Darryl Dunn, Mathew’s college friend; Lisa Amosu, My Trendy Place proprietor; Kim Wood Sandusky, Destiny’s Child vocal coach; Lance Gilbert, Beyoncé’s stunt coordinator; Marguerite, choreographer for Austin Powers in Goldmember; Sharen Davis, costume designer for Dreamgirls; Tenesha Ksyn Cason, dancer in Beyoncé’s show.
I’d also like to thank AlexSandra Wright for the hours she devoted to telling her full story for the first time. It’s never easy opening up to a writer about the most personal of details, especially if they have been previously exaggerated or even falsified in the media. Whatever the circumstances, Alex and her son, Nixon Knowles Wright, have their rightful place in Knowles family history. I am very grateful to Alex for allowing me to tell her story in these pages. I would also like to acknowledge her brother Jonathan, her partner, Harvey Walden, and her attorney, David Ingram, for their interviews.
It was Mathew Knowles’s decision not to cooperate with this book, though he did have a lengthy and very lively conversation with my researcher Cathy Griffin about the possibility on June 27, 2014. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Knowles, as I hope is evidenced on these pages. It was also an honor to meet with his business associate, the critically acclaimed music and television producer Spencer Proffer, a man I admire very much.
Beyoncé, Tina, and Solange Knowles also did not wish to cooperate with us on this book. That’s to be expected. This is my telling of their story, the way I see it based on all of my research. I understand that they will one day want to tell their stories their way, and I certainly wish mother and daughters the best with it.
GENERAL RESEARCH
I would like to extend my appreciation to the following very helpful people: Nolan Davis; Millicent Laday; Angela Taylor; Kevin Graves; Ron Reaves; Carol Kehlenbrink; Stephanie Bradford; Cindy George; Mari Tamburo; JR Jones; Teresa Whitmore; Lisa Amosu; Kevin Alred; Caroline Graham; Paul S. Howell; Howard Decker; John L. Moore; Unique PR; Katrina Dalton; Paul Francis; Dylan Howard; Becca Nelson; Jayne DiGregorio; Steve Gaeto; Tyler Baxter; Sandra Marsh; Lydia Nicole; Christopher Howard; Anthony Hicks; Jason Bernard; Bryan Ashulman; David L. Ingram; Kellie Woldman; Fran Tolstonog and Jonathan Wright.
I would also like to acknowledge the following institutions: Gadsden Times (Alabama); Holy Family Catholic School (Galveston); Sisters of the Holy Family—Texas; Sisters of the Holy Family—Louisiana; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston; Gadsden City High School; Gadsden Public Library; Genealogy Department of Gadsden Public Library; Galveston Daily News (Texas); Etowah County Library; Litchfield Middle School (Alabama); Parker Elementary School; St. Mary’s Elementary School; Houston Independent School District; Houston Chronicle; Houstonia magazine; Texas Monthly magazine; Newspaper Archives.com; Silent Partner Productions; HCP Servers; Ball High School; Central High School; Old Central Cultural Center; My Trendy Place; Rosenberg Library; Galveston County District Court; Galveston History and Texas Center; SugarHill Recording Studios; Harris County District Court;
Harris County Appraisal District; Harris County Clerk’s Office; Yale Baptist Church; Brentwood Baptist Church; Rutgers University; Clayton News Daily (Georgia).
I also want to express my gratitude to Pat Busch of the Harris County Appraisal District and Charles Clark, supervisor of the Harris County Clerk’s Office, for their assistance.
Thank you to the following institutions: American Academy of Dramatic Arts; American Film Institute Library; Associated Press Office (New York); Lincoln Center, New York; Beverly Hills Library; University of California, Los Angeles; Corbis-Gamma/Liason; Glendale Central Public Library; Hedda Hopper Collection in the Margaret Herrick Collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills; Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts; Kobal Collection; Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles Public Library; Museum of Broadcasting, New York; the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio archives, now part of the Turner Entertainment Group, Los Angeles; Museum of the Film; National Archives and Library of Congress; New York City Municipal Archives; New York University Library; New York Daily News; New York Post; New York Times; Philadelphia Public Library; Time-Life archives and Library, New York; Tribune Photo Archives, Overland Park, Kansas; Universal Collection at the University of Southern California; University of Southern California; and, finally, Rex Features.
Special thanks to the Museum of Broadcasting in New York and the Paley Center for Media in California for making so many archival television programs available to historians such as myself.
SOURCE NOTES
It is impossible to write accurately about anyone’s life without many reliable witnesses to provide a range of different viewpoints. A biography of this kind stands or falls on the frankness of those involved in the story. A great number of other people went out of their way to assist me with Becoming Beyoncé. Friends, relatives, journalists, socialites, lawyers, celebrities, and business associates of the Knowles family were contacted in preparation for this book. I and my research team also carefully reviewed, as secondary sources, books about Beyoncé and her family members, as well as hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles written about them. I’m not going to list all of them here, though I will list those that I believe deserve special acknowledgment.
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