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| BeBe Winans |
By Darlene Donloe
BeBe Winans has
that voice. You know the one. It’s the smoky one. It’s full-bodied. It’s smooth. It’s the one full
of richness and thickness. And when he sings, the texture of his music is
emotional and soul-searching. His singing is full of passion. It sounds like
deep, rich chocolate tastes.
For years he’s
been singing gospel as a solo act, but most notably as part of the successful
gospel duo, BeBe and CeCe, which includes his sister. Their collaboration,
which includes nine successful gold and platinum recordings, has proven to be a
winning formula that was initiated by Jim and Tammy Bakker.
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| CeCe and BeBe Winans |
BeBe and CeCe
are part of the famous Winans family gospel music dynasty. All of the siblings
are popular and accomplished award-winning singers.
A six-time
Grammy Award-winning icon, Winans, the youngest male member of the renowned Winans
gospel family, is changing course.
He’s thrown his
hat into the ring as a playwright and producer - putting his life story up
front and center in a new musical called, Born
For This: The BeBe Winans Story. The show
premiered last year at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta and the Arena Stage in
Washington, DC.
The musical,
directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, with book by Randolph–Wright (director of
Motown: The Musical) and Winans, will be
performed at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica beginning July 11, with original
music and lyrics by Winans.
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| Juan Winans and Deborah Joy Photo By Greg Mooney |
The show is
billed as a hilarious and heart-warming journey toward self-discovery. Detroit
natives BeBe and CeCe Winans, youngest siblings of the Winans family dynasty,
experience the ultimate in culture shock when invited to join Jim and Tammy
Faye Bakker’s Praise The Lord Network television show. The Winans
teenagers became not only television celebrities, they also became like adopted
children to the Bakkers, integrating TV evangelism in Pineville, North
Carolina. As BeBe and CeCe encounter fame, fortune, and even a young
Whitney Houston, BeBe must learn to balance his desire for success with his
true calling. Winans, who is divorced and has two children, doesn’t appear
in the musical, nor does his sister, CeCe. Winans is played by his nephew Juan
Winans, while CeCe is played by Juan’s sister, Deborah Joy (Greenleaf).
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| BeBe Winans |
Today, Winans,
who now calls Nashville home, is donned in a black cap, black shirt, jacket and
black shoes. He’s looking rather chic as he sits in The Rooftop Grill on top of the Montage
Beverly Hills hotel waiting to be served his favorite lunch (a turkey burger).
The 54-year-old
singer, whose face is now sprinkled with a salt and pepper beard and moustache,
is a handsome, confident, amiable, and level-headed man with a pleasing
personality and a powerful, even regal presence.
While sharing a
lunch with Winans, whose real name is Benjamin, it’s clear he’s in a good mood. He’s eager to talk about his
show and how he’s presenting his story – his way! He’s hoping his story
inspires others.
DD: Describe the
show.
BW: You’re going
to see what people don’t know. A 15-year-old CeCe and 17-year-old BeBe coming
of age story. We’ll see how they became a duet. We weren’t a duet in the
beginning. If it wasn’t for Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, we wouldn’t be. And then
you’ll follow my journey and how I navigated my life in order to obtain fame,
but not trade in my faith. You’ll see the fight and the struggle with that. I’ve
seen fame destroy people. It almost destroyed me but my faith brought me
through it. The young BeBe you’ll see is the BeBe that got lost and struggled
with little things that people not from my background would ever struggle with.
Everything in my upbringing was a sin. My first movie was ET, The Extra
Terrestrial. It was at the movie theater. I went there with some friends and I
couldn't enjoy the movie because I knew my life would be over when I stepped
out of the theater. That’s the backstory
of my family’s life. It’s what my parents meant to us. My brothers. People have
a way of putting you on a pedestal. Our life was not easy, but our music played
a very important part of our life.
DD: Why the name
Born For This?
BW: It’s the
title track to a song I wrote. It says it all in the midst of trying to find
out what I wanted to do with my life. If it was something my life could become.
I was born to sing. I was born to do what I’m doing. It caused me a lot of
pain. I wanted to hang it up and promise I would never do it again.
DD: What was/is
your true calling?
BW: To be 19 and
get a phone call from a mainstream producer that wanted to do a solo album with
me and wanted me to go secular and have more exposure. I had to really ask
myself the question is that what you’re supposed to do? You become more famous
and have more outlets. I was born to sing this.
This is what I was born to do. Fate has a way of guiding you where
you're supposed to go, but not telling you where that is.
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Juan Winans, Kiandra Richardson, Deborah Joy Winans.
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DD: What is
success to you?
BW: At a certain
age it was a house and car. At another age it was a gold album. Success with
age and time is a different description. Now it’s being at peace with who I am
and where I am and what I have and what I don’t have.
DD: Was fame and
fortune worth it?
BW: Um, there
are pros and cons. I say yes to some degree and to the other degree I say no.
DD: What are the degrees?
BW: We don’t understand peer pressure at all.
I’ve never been under peer pressure. If you could live through my family
upbringing then you knew who you were. My father taught us who we were before
we left the house. My father would say, “You’re going to know who you are
before you leave my house.” Therefore,
the outside influences weren’t that important to us. I never went after fame
for the sake of having everybody know my name. Fortune, that’s another thing. I don’t know anyone who just desires to be
broke. The hard part for me of fortune was…..we were almost taught that if you
loved money that you didn't love God that much. I had to break through that mold.
I had to break through the philosophies of man. There is nothing wrong with
having money. It was the love of money, not money. It is the root of all evil,
but not money. You have to find the balance where you’re not loving money,
you’re just making money and that’s OK.
DD: Why did you
feel it was important to tell your story now?
BW: I’ve been
writing it for 10 years and I always trying to tell people that I didn’t wake
up and say my life is a musical. It was in one of the conversation I had with one
of my dear friends we all love - Roberta Flack and she detoured and asked, “Baby,
when are you going to write that musical about you and your sister? You gotta
get to it.” And then she went back into a different conversation. Five days
later I went into a hotel room in Montreal, Canada and like a faucet came on
and I wrote the first draft for what is now Born
For This. This was destined for me to do. I know that now.
DD: For people
looking in, it could look like an easy journey.
BW: This is not an easy journey at all. What I’ve
learned from the Alliance in Atlanta is that my story is a lot of people’s stories.
It’s important now because we’re all divided. Anger is not the answer. I
endured in this story racism in the south. Instead of being angry I decided to
laugh. Laughing is good like a medicine. I choose love. We tell that story. I
think people need to be heard. That’s the only way we’re going to come
together.
DD: Tell me
about the first time the show opened. Did you watch from the wings? Did you
watch from the audience? What was going
through your mind?
BW: I watched
from the back of the audience. I believed it. What was so impactful at that
moment was I saw, I believed in the show. I saw this on the stage. I saw this
moment happened. What was so impactful was I had a chance to see the faces of
the people I saw in my vision. Now I’m seeing them face-to-face. That was
unbelievable. There were black faces, white, young, old, there were faces I
imagined and now I’m seeing. That was incredible.
DD: How long
have you been working on the show? How long did it take to write? What is your process for writing a song?
BW: Ten years
ago is when I started working on the show.
I’ve always written songs. In writing I write when I’m inspired. I’m not
a 9-5 writer. I can tell when I’m getting ready to receive the song. I can tell
in my body and spirit and then I find a place and sit still and I write it. And
then I continue what I was doing. I know the story of BeBe and CeCe. What do we tell what don't we tell? What do we tell without it being nine days
long. I learned about theater in New
York. It was an incredible journey of learning Broadway and how to present this
story.
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(l-r) Chaz Pofahl, Kirsten Wyatt, Juan Winans, Nick Morrett, Alison Whitehurst,
Gracie Jones, Kurt Boehm, Deborah Joy Winans.
Photo by Greg Mooney
DD: What did you
learn about yourself while writing the show?
BW: That I was
naïve, but I was determined. I didn’t know I had as much determination as I
did. Sitting back and watching the show I kept saying I could have given up
then.
DD: Do you like
yourself?
BW: I love me. I’ve
always been this way. If you don’t like yourself how are you going to expect
other to like you? That's why I have a lot friends.
DD: Any regrets
about anything?
BW: Under his
breath, ever so lightly, he begins to sing a few lines from the song Here’s To Life.
No complaints and no
regrets
I still believe in chasing
dreams and placing bets
DD: Is that a
bit of insight into what is going on inside his head? He’s not telling. All he’ll say is…..
BW: The regrets
have become roadblocks. If I didn’t have those mistakes then I wouldn’t know
that correction.
DD: What did you
expect from this business and what did you get?
BW: I expected
it to be easier and it was harder. I expected for people to be truthful and
they were liars.
DD: What did CeCe think about the story? Did you
run anything by her?
BW: No, not at
all. No Winans had any influences. They didn't know anything until they came to
see it. It’s my story.
DD: Was writing this cathartic? Did you work some
stuff out?
BW: It was. It was
just like writing the book, my first book, I found the Whitney (Houston) I
knew. This was therapeutic for me. Whitney…..it was difficult. But writing
caused me to accept it and walk through it. Writing my story was the same, not
as difficult, but you really do have to be bold and brave. I sat next to this lovely woman one day.
Before the first act, she hit me on my leg and said, “I didn't know you were so
selfish.” I was just 18. You have to be brave to let people see things they
don’t know and can’t see through your music.
DD: At what
point did you fall in love with yourself?
BW: I have
always been in love with me. I’ve always
been confident. I can be a better
singer, a better this and a better that. I was OK with me.
DD: Talk about
working with Charles Randolph Wright.
Why was he the right person to work with?
BW: He loves
himself more than I love myself. He said
one word when were talking. Pineville. I said, “What do you know about
Pineville?” That’s where PTL (Praise The Lord) was. It was a suburb in South Carolina. I knew he
was the person. He was raised there. I didn’t know that. Charles has concerns
that I don’t have. It was a great match and we’ve taught each other some important
lessons. I can bet you if you ask him has his faith increased since he met me,
he’d say, Yes. It’s quite different with a black producer than a white person.
It’s about faith.
DD: Talk about
your nephew Juan and your niece Deborah Joy playing you and your sister. What pointers did you give him?
BW: I think that, to me, has been quite a needle
in a haystack. It’s been an absolute joy. My niece got her master's in theater.
Since she was three, four, or five she knew she wanted to be an actress. She
didn’t pursue music. She worked on acting. And so I got behind her early on.
And then she came out here and I supported her. My nephew was always mimicking
me, more with me than he was with his father. He was my shadow. When we first
started developing, I brought her in right away. It was an opportunity for her
to use her craft. The interesting part for me was through the journey they have
learned about me and CeCe and what we were all about. They learned way more
than what they knew about Aunt CeCe and
Uncle BeBe. They knew the struggle. I was an open book. It’s been good for them
because they are more determined in the gift they have.
DD: How did Jim
and Tammy Faye become familiar with you and CeCe?
BW: It was scary
for us there, but God had a plan. My father didn’t want us to go across the
street to spend the night. For him to let us go to South Carolina was huge. I
went so CeCe could go as a singer. I went so she could have that opportunity. I
got a job at the grocery store. Later I became a singer. Jim is still a very
close friend. He came to the opening of this show. He found out things he
didn't’ know. They became very protective of us and just assured my mom and dad
that they would take care of us like their children and that's what they did.
DD: Why didn’t you and CeCe play yourselves?
BW: I didn’t want to. I’ve had the opportunity of
doing Broadway and I’ve had my share. I’m more passionate about writing what I’m
doing now then I am about singing. Oh, Lord!
I don’t really have to sing any more. I’ve always been that way. People
just don’t know.
DD: Wait! What? Yes, you do!
BW: If you told
me at the beginning of my career to choose between singing and writing, I would
have chosen writing.
DD: No!
BW: Believe
that. Believe that!
DD: No! Why?
BW: If I’m on
stage singing I can enjoy that, but getting to the stage I’m going through
turmoil. There’s so much about it that I don’t enjoy.
DD: Like?
BW: Like managers.
Like agents. Like travelling. Like sound
checks. Like what are you going to wear? Wardrobe. Like the band. Like kids and
babysitting. Like CeCe’s not ready. I can go on and on and on and on. With writing I don’t have to go anywhere. I
can sit still.
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| BeBe Winans |
DD: What is left
for BeBe to do before he leaves the planet?
BW: Continue to
go through whatever door opens. I call this my second bow. When you turn 50 you
realize you’re not 20 anymore. I want to have fun with the time I have left. I
want to have fun. I want to make sure it’s really who I am with what is
represented. There is a lot to be done.
Whether it’s movies. Anything I can do to open up a door and educate people who
have the same desire and same ambition that I had when I was 17, that’s what I
want to do. Do it to the best of my ability. I’m downsizing, but you can still
be impactful with the little things you do.
DD:
Tell me about being an Ambassador for Metro World Child, an organization committed
to providing hope and building futures for children living in adverse
conditions in metropolitan areas around the world.
BW: I
think it is one of the most incredible secrets going on. Bill Wilson is a man,
who at the age of 13, his mother drove him to a corner and said, ‘I can’t do
this anymore.’ This man saw him and asked where is your mother? He took him in
and raised him. He can’t see a child
that he doesn’t help. This is an incredible organization that helps children.
DD: When can we
expect some new music from you?
BW: We are
getting a soundtrack together that you will enjoy. It’s coming in July.
Born For This, The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, 1310 11th
St, Santa Monica, CA, July 11-Aug. 6; 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 2 and 7:30 p.m.,
Sat.-Sun. through Aug. 6; www.thebroadstage.com
or 310 434-3200.
