Happy Birthday, Alexandra!

Today is the birthday of one of our iconic trans women, Alexandra Billings.

She's a multi talented singer, actress, teacher and fellow blogger. You can check out her site at Alexandra Billings.com or her blog Stillettos and Sneakers to learn more about this talented lady.

I'm also looking forward to seeing her in the movie Stealth.



Happy birthday, Alexandra. You're looking good and expanding the minds and horizons of others. May you have many more.

Happy Birthday To The Queen Of Soul!

Time for everyone to bow and curtsy in the direction of Detroit because today is the birthday of Her Royal Soulness, Aretha Franklin.

She was born on this date in Memphis, TN in 1942.

She has had a long and distinguished career in the music industry, winning 18 Grammys. She was the first female artist inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and has had 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, starting with 'Respect' (one of my fave songs) in 1967.

She became on June 28, 1968 the second African American woman to appear on the cover of Time magazine.

She has also garnered a long list of honors culminating in being named the Number one singer in the rock era by Rolling Stone magazine. She beat out Number 2 Ray Charles, Number 3 Elvis Presley, Number 4 Sam Cooke, and number 5 John Lennon for the honor..

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and sang at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. The hat she wore that day is now housed in the Smithsonian.

PETA may not like the Queen of Soul, but who cares what they think? The rest of the planet loves and respects her.

Happy Birthday, Aretha!

Happy Birthday To 'The Greatest'

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, time to say 'Happy Birthday' to Muhammad Ali.

Today is the birthday of 'The Greatest', who was born in Louisville, KY on this date in 1942. 1960 Olympic gold medalist, three time heavyweight boxing champ, humanitarian, just all around awesome human being.

Enjoy the video from the Ernie Terrell fight, in which Terrell dissed Ali by referring to his old name in a pre fight interview with Howard Cosell, then got his butt kicked in their Astrodome fight.

Ali chanted 'What's my name?' as he pounded Terrell.



Enjoy, and happy birthday to 'The Greatest'.

Happy Birthday Madame First Lady

Today is First Lady Michelle Obama's birthday, who was born on this date in Chicago in 1964.

The FLOTUS is looking good and handling her business a year into her husband's presidency.

So yes, I'm proud that this brilliant, statuesque and talented sister is representing my country. The fact she's an AKA is a bonus.

Happy birthday Madame First Lady. May you have many more and another seven years representing us well.

Happy 50th Birthday Flo Jo

It's hard to believe she's been gone from us for eleven years, but today would have been Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner's 50th birthday. She was born in this date in south Los Angeles in 1959

Back in the day I loved me some Flo Jo.

She was known not only for her flashy form-fitting bodysuits and six-inch fingernails, but had world-record speed. The 100m record she set back in 1988 still hasn't been threatened by the current crop of female sprinters.

Florence Griffith Joyner was a triple gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics who captivated the world with her blistering speed, glamorous looks and flamboyant style.

She still holds the world records in the 100m and 200m dashes. She set the 100m mark of 10.49 seconds during the quarter finals of the 1988 US Olympic trials at Indianapolis.


At Seoul, she won the 100m gold medal in a wind-aided 10.54 seconds and won her 200m gold medal in a world record time of 21.34 seconds.

Because she had an unbelievable competitive year, as usual any sistah who excels in the international sports world is accused of cheating. In Flo Jo's case, because of her curvy and muscular build, she was dogged by accusations of steroid use even though she never failed a drug test.

She retired after the Seoul Games to pursue other interests, and died unexpectedly of heart failure at age thirty-eight on September 21, 1998.

Athletes like her only come along once in a generation. She is definitely missed by those of us who loved to watch her run and look good blowing away her competition at the same time.

Rest in peace, sis.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Tyra Banks Birthday Edition

Another week has flow by and it's time for our weekly exercise here at TransGriot of shining a bright spotlight on the fools in our midst.

Today happens to be the birthday of former supermodel and talk show host Tyra Banks, who was born in Inglewood, CA on this date in 1973.

As our Shut Up Fool! Awards mascot Mr. T reminds us, fools are everywhere.

It seems like we've had a bumper crop of them this week, so lets get right to the fun and festivities and see what fool, fools, or organization of fools won our illustrious award.

This week's fool is Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico. He earned it with this homophobic and transphobic comment that was posted on a conservative Catholic website called Pontifex. In case you missed it, here it is:

"Transsexuals and homosexuals will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, it's not me who says it but St. Paul.".

"One is not born homosexual but they become that way. This is for various reasons: education, for not having developed their identity during their adolescence, maybe they are not guilty but by going against the dignity of the body they certainly will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Everything that goes against nature and against the dignity of the body offends God," he was quoted as saying.

You know it's bad when the Vatican calls your ass out for your stupidity.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the website should not be considered an authority on Catholic thinking "on complex and delicate issues such as homosexuality."

Lombardi quoted from the official Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, which says homosexual acts are a "disorder" but acknowledges that many people have "innate homosexual tendencies" and should be treated with respect and not be subject to discrimination.

Whatever.

You know, y'all need to go back to what Jesus said instead of what St. Paul said.
The world would be a much better place.

On that note, let's finish our business here.

Shut the HELL up, Cardinal Barragan!

Happy Birthday Jayne Kennedy Overton!

I have much love for this statuesque trailblazing sister who was born on this date in Washington, DC.

Jayne Harrison grew up in the Cleveland area suburb of Wickliffe, OH, and began a string of trailblazing firsts. She was a member of the National Honor Society in high school and was her high school class president three consecutive years. In 1969 she became the first African American vice president of Girls State.

Just a year later, she became the first African American to win the Miss Ohio USA pageant and finished fourth runner up in the 1970 Miss USA Pageant.

She did a USO tour with Bob Hope at the close of the Vietnam War, was a dancer o the Dean Martin Show, and thanks to stints in television, movies, advertising contracts for Jovan and the Tab diet soft drink and numerous Ebony/Jet covers she was one of the more recognizable faces of the 70's.

In 1978 she became the first African-American network female sportscaster when she joined the anchor desk for 'The NFL Today' pregame show on CBS for two years. That CBS stint paved the way for the current wave of Black female sportscasters you see on the airwaves now.

She got remarried in 1985 to current husband Bill Overton and is the mother of three daughters. While she isn't in the limelight as much as she was during the 70's and 80's, I still love me some Jayne Kennedy Overton.

Happy birthday, Jayne. May you have many more.

Happy Birthday, Tami!

Happy Anniversary of your 29th Birthday Tami!

Today is the birthday of another one of my favorite bloggers, and I couldn't let the occasion slide by with giving her a TransGriot shoutout.

If you've surfed by her home blog What Tami Said or checked out any of her guest posts here or in the other spots she guest blogs at such as Racialicious, you know that she not only is a wonderful and thought provoking writer, she definitely isn't afraid to tell it like it T-I-S is.

And she's cool people on top of that. One of these days I'm going to have to make that drive up I-65 north and hang out with my blogging sister for the day.

Until then Tami, have a very happy and stress free birthday, and may you have many more!

Happy 85th Birthday President Carter!

Today was the 85th birthday of President Jimmy Carter. He spent his milestone birthday reopening his Carter Center after it shut down in April for several months to do a multimillion dollar makeover and upgrade.

The ceremony and ribbon cutting, which drew a standing room-only crowd, were held on the front lawn of the Carter Presidential Museum and included the birthday man, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, former Vice President Walter Mondale, Carter Library and Museum Director Jay Hakes, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery, and other dignitaries.

BTW if you wish to leave some greetings for him, click the link here.

A large section of the new state-of-the-art facility is devoted to the Carter post-presidency. It's the first time any presidential museum has done so.

The centerpiece of the post-presidency section is a large interactive exhibit with multiple touch-screen stations that will take visitors on a virtual trip with the Carters around the world.

They will meet some of the millions of people whose lives have been changed by the Center's peace and health work, learn about their communities, and gain a greater understanding of the challenges faced by people in developing nations.

Visitors also will experience what it is like to be president of the United States in a unique, extensive area called "A Day in the Life of the President," which recreates an actual 24-hour period from President Carter's schedule.

I still wish Carter would have gotten a second term. The United States would have been a much better country if he had.

Happy birthday President Carter!

Happy Birthday Isis!

Today is my little sis Isis King's birthday.

Who knew that when we celebrated the fact last year she was the first transwoman to appear on America's Next Top Model she'd become more popular and well known than the person who actually won Cycle 11?

She has continued to be a classy role model for all of us, and I wish my sis on her 24th birthday nothing but positive blessings and a happy and healthy life.

Oh yeah, have some fun for me at your birthday party as well.

Happy Birthday Monica!

Just in case you're wondering, I celebrated my birthday a month ago. The Monica I'm wishing a Happy Birthday to is one who is no longer with us, but is still very special to me in my heart.

Her name is Monica Monet Holloway-Barrett and she was born on this date in 1962 in Mobile, AL.

So how did a native Houstonian get to meet this Alabama girl? Her grandparents lived in Houston and during her spring break in 1980 she traveled to H-town to visit them. HISD was still in session at the time and my classmate and her friend Virginia Tucker lived next door to Monica's grandparents.

Virginia invited Monica to hang out with her for the day at Jones and Virginia was in my trig class. When she and Monica walked through the door she had my undivided attention that day instead of my math teacher Mr. Stevenson.

Intelligent people tend to gravitate to other intelligent people and I picked up on that. My 'twin' liked smart sistahs. Monica was about 5'6", had a flawless light caramel colored skin tone and shoulder length jet black hair framing her face.

We exchanged contact data and I was even more smitten with her after I discovered her birthday was June 4, which also happens to be my late Grandmother Tama's birthday as well.

Through the summer of 1980 we traded letters but as the demands of my census enumerator job increased and her summer classes at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute demanded more of her attention we gradually lost contact with each other. When my own freshman year at UH approached and subsequently my transgender issues demanded resolution during the spring semester she faded from my memory for a while.

Over the years I wondered what happened to the girl I met during the last months of my senior year and developed a serious crush on. One day I was flipping through the Houston Chronicle and stumbled across her wedding announcement that her grandparents had placed.

It caught me up on her life up until that time. She'd graduated from Duke in 1984, pledged AKA and had become a doctor after graduating from medical school in 1990. I also discovered that she was now living in Houston. I'd seen the announcement too late to attend the wedding, was a little jealous of the guy she was marrying, but at the same time was pleased to know that things were going well for Monica. I was also happy to know that she'd found someone special to spend the rest of her life with.

In April 1998 I was once again perusing the Houston Chronicle when I was shocked to see something I didn't expect.

Monica's obituary

It didn't mention how she died, but Dr. Monica Holloway-Barrett had become nonetheless an Ivy Beyond The Wall. That obituary also updated me on the final chapter of her life before she was called home April 9. She'd given birth to a daughter in 1993, was teaching classes at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and was involved in a long list of local organizations at the point of her untimely passing.

I cried for a few moments after reading it and realizing that she was only 35 when she died. Once again I was seeing it too late to attend and pay my last respects and I was a little upset about that. It's also ironic and frustrating to me that our paths could have crossed before she passed away. One of the schools that we used to do Trans 101 seminars at was Baylor College of Medicine and the first one I was part of took place in February 1998.

I took some time to remember the beautiful girl I met in my math class that day who'd become an outstanding woman. I clipped that obituary, scanned the picture (which is on my other computer, darn it) and stored it in my high school memory book.

She's one of the reasons that when it came time for me to choose a feminine name when I transitioned in 1994, I chose Monica.

My name today is a reminder to myself on multiple levels. I wanted to honor her memory, so I strive to carry myself in the same way that I remember her as a classy, beautiful and intelligent woman. It's also a reminder to myself to make every moment count and make quality use of the time that you're allotted. Unlike the Cylons of Battlestar Galactica, we only get one shot at living our lives and you don't get multiple practice runs until it's perfect.

Happy birthday, Monica. Say hello to my grandmother Tama for me.

Happy Birthday To Me, Kimora Lee Simmons and Dawn Staley

Today is my favorite day on the calendar next to Christmas. My birthday!

It's the one day of the year that is uniquely personal because it's the day you arrived on this planet. In my case that was at 10:45 PM back during the Kennedy administration. ;)

It's a day filled with mixed emotions. One of prayerful appreciation that I've lived an additional 365 days (366 after a leap year) to see another May 4 roll off the calendar. The reveling in the specialness of the one day on the calendar that is truly yours. At the same time, in my case I tend to treat my birthdays like mileposts to check my quality of life progress. I spend the weeks leading up to it assessing where I want my life to be by the next one and what direction I want and need it to take to achieve my goals. I'm also thanking God for allowing to be here and for some of the blessing that I have now. Family that loves me, loyal friends and various people who love and care about me.

I'm about to step out of the house and head down I-65 to Nashville for the day. The Blue Bell Anniversary exhibit is set up at a mall down there and I want my free pint of ice cream. ;)

I was bummed when they set up the tour and Nashville was the closest city that the traveling exhibit was going to hit. They started selling Blue Bell here in Kentucky after the tour itinerary was set up. We're also rolling down to hang out with our good friend Marisa Richmond.

As for the other women who share my birthday, WNBA great, Olympian and Temple coach Dawn Staley, Kimora Lee Simmons and the late actress Audrey Hepburn no wonder I've always liked them. They are stubborn, determined Tauruses just like me.

Happy birthday to all the people around the world to whom May 4 is a special day for them as well.

T-Minus 48 Hours To Birthday

I'm less than 48 hours from getting another year older.

While I'm not disappointed that I am close to seeing another May 4 show up on my calendar, I'm not as giddy as I used to be in my childhood when I would impatiently wish that April would be gone with the quickness so we could get to the first week of May.

As I get older, from April 4 to my birthday I tend to get introspective and reminisce about how I got to this point, lament missed opportunities and congratulate myself for some of the things that I did step out of my comfort zone to do that improved my quality of life.

I get to do a road trip to Nashville Friday, hang out with my friends and enjoy the scenery of the two hour drive to there and back. They also like to spring suprises on me. I need to be very afraid what AC and Dawn may have cooked up when I am in their presence tomorrow.

That reminds me, need to get a camera. ;)

Happy Birthday 'Lufer'

With all the negativity that April 20 is associated with in terms of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado and it being Adolf Hitler's birthday I thought it was time to point out something positive that happened on this date.

Luther Ronzoni Vandross was born in New York City in 1951.

Boy do I miss 'Lufer' as one of my friends used to pronounce his name. I remember when I first heard him singing during the disco era on Change's 'The Glow Of Love and Searchin' tracks and my reaction when I walked into Soundwaves and saw his Never Too Much album being sold.

There are very few artists that I buy their albums, much less debut ones without listening to it first but I did in this case. I wasn't disappointed.

From that point on every time he released an album or CD I was plunking down cash on the counters of my local record stores to purchase them. I attended EVERY Luther Vandross concert during the 80s and up until 1991.

Yeah, I'm a huge Luther fan. The man could SANG. The 25 million albums sold, the 14 albums ithat hit either platinum or multi-platinum status, eight Grammy Awards and other awards he won over his career are a testament to that. He had much success in the commercial jingle arena as well. It's also impossible to count the number of people who got busy to his music or how many children were conceived as a result of their parents listening to Luther's romantic songs.

Even the 1999 movie The Wood alluded to this when two of the characters, Alicia and Mike ended up slow dancing at a junior high school dance to Luther's 'If This World Were Mine'. They later remembered the moment as high school juniors. They were in Alicia's bedroom when the song played on the radio just before she and Mike lost their virginity together.



It's ironic that the lifelong bachelor who became synonymous with love, romance and relationships was himself always in search of them. He was consistently dogged by gay rumors which he vehemently denied during his lifetime. He was posthumously outed after his death due to the complications from the debilitating stroke he suffered in April 2003.

He was interviewed in May 2004 on Oprah and at the end of it sang "I believe in the power of love" in reference to his 1991 hit song 'Power of Love'. I cried for ten minutes after hearing that and hoped like many Luther fans that he was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately he took a turn for the worse a year later and passed away July 1, 2005.

Luther is no longer here with us, but his music, the fond memories I have of those concerts and the memory of his Oprah television appearance will stay with me forever.

Happy 50th Birthday Spike Lee!

In addition to March 20 being the first day of spring (hallelujah) today is also Spike Lee's birthday. He was born in the ATL 50 years ago on this date.

Spike is one of my favorite filmmakers. I remember when I rolled over to the River Oaks Theater back in 1986 to see She's Gotta Have It. It was the first time I'd gotten a chance to see a movie with an all-Black cast since I caught The Wiz back in my high school days. After seeing that movie I made it a point not to miss a premiere weekend for a Spike Lee Joint until 1994. I also have many of Spike's movies in my personal DVD collection.

One of the interesting things about Spike Lee movies in addition to them being topical is the long list of people who have acted in them and later became big stars on stage, screen and television such as future Oscar winners Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Eriq LaSalle, Queen Latifah, Jasmine Guy, Laurence Fishbourne and Samuel L. Jackson have also been in Spike's movies and some people have acted in more than one Spike Lee joint such as the late Ossie Davie and Wesley Snipes.

He has also done highly acclaimed documentaries such as 4 Little Girls and the recent When The Levees Broke for HBO.

I also loved those humorous Nike Air Jordan commercials he directed in which he reprised his Mars Blackmon character from She's Gotta Have It.

One thing I adore about Spike is that he's never been shy about expressing his opinions about various subjects. Spike gets much respect from me for that. He also gets much love from me as a movie fan for resuscitating our legacy of filmmaking that goes back to the great Oscar Micheaux and inspiring a new generation of filmmakers to pursue their dreams.

Looking forward to seeing him win that elusive Oscar one day and the James Brown biopic that he's been signed to do when it comes out next year.

Happy Birthday Vanessa Williams!

On this day in 1963 Vanessa Lynn Williams was born. Her parents announced her birth with a prophetic statement: 'Here she is, Miss America!'

She not only fulfilled her parents prophecy by becoming the first African-American Miss America but has built an enviable career for herself in the process. Vanessa has graced Broadway stages, television, Hollywood and the recording industry and racked up numerous awards in the process.

She's currently playing the delightfully backstabbing Wilhemina Slater on ABC's Ugly Betty.

Happy Birthday, Vanessa!

Happy Birthday Jasmine Guy!

One of my favorite quadruple threats was born on this date in 1964.

I fell in love with Jasmine when she played Hillman's diva princess Whitley Gilbert on NBC's A Different World. But that wasn't her first time in the limelight. She's been performing on stage and screen for over 20 years as a dancer, actress, and singer.

Jasmine was a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and danced in the TV pilot and on the show Fame with Debbie Allen. In addition to doing Broadway and dance theater, she's appeared in the movies Harlem Nights, Klash, and one of my fave Spike Lee movies School Daze. She also played Velma Kelly in the touring production of Chicago.

She also done television since A Different World with roles and guest spots on Showtime's Dead Like Me, NYPD Blue, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Touched By an Angel , The Parkers and That's So Raven.

You can also call Jasmine an author. She penned the book 'Evolution of a Revolutionary', the story and spiriitual journey of Afeni Shakur. For those of you who are wondering who she is, you've probably heard of her son Tupac.

Jasmine these days is happily married and has a daughter. I'm looking forward to checking out her next multimedia project.

Happy 65th Birthday Muhammad Ali

Today is the 65th birthday of 'The Greatest'. On this day Cassius Marcellus Clay, the man who would become an inspiration to millions and a symbol of Black Pride was born in Louisville.

The self proclaimed 'pretty' man in 1960 won Olympic gold in Rome, then shocked the world twice. He beat Sonny Liston for the championship in 1964, then joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He was a rare blend of lightning quick speed, punching power and unabashed showmanship. The boxing world had never seen anything like him and frankly hasn't been the same since he left. He was also a proud, principled man. He refused induction into the Army during the height of the Vietnam War, an act that cost him his title and three precious years of his boxing career.

Ali's body has been ravaged by the effects of Parkinson's disease, but all of us who had the pleasure of growing up during his heyday and watching the epic 'Thrilla in Manila' with Joe Frazier, him rope-a-dope the then-invincible George Foreman to regain his crown for a second time in 1975, defeat Leon Spinks to regain his crown for the third time in 1978 and his verbal jousting with Howard Cosell will never forget it.

He brought tears to my eyes when I watched him along with the rest of the planet light the Olympic flame during the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Games in 1996.

He will always be 'The Champ' to me.

Happy 60th Birthday 'Brother Bill'

Today is the 60th birthday of a man who will probably be recognized by future historians as one of the great US presidents. I ain't waiting that long. As far as I'm concered he already is.

Happy birthday, Wlliam Jefferson Clinton!

We African-Americans call him 'Brother Bill' because he was one of the first presidents in a long time who we felt truly understood us, our culture and paid more than lip service to the notion that we are American citizens too.

When he was campaigning in our communities during the runup to the 1992 elections he made a campaign promise to us that his cabinet would 'look like America.' The man from Hope, AK repeatedly let us know that if we trusted him with our votes he wouldn't forget us. He even went on our TV shows like Arsenio, did interviews with our iconic magazines and talked to Black radio outlets to tell us that.

The best part was that when he won in 1992, he won, he kept that promise.

He appointed more African-Americans to his cabinet than Reagan, Daddy Bush and GW Bush combined. He turned a deficit into a surplus. He presided over the longest peacetime economic expansion in our country's history and under Clinton we had the lowest African-American unemployment rate ever in our country's history.

He also wasn't afraid to try to accomplish bold new initiatives. The Human Genome Project was started and completed during his presidency. The Internet became a fixture in American homes. He even tried to pass universal healthcare. He got the Palestinians and Israelis to the table to talk peace. He became the second American president to visit the African continent.

He earned the undying hatred of conservatives. They spent millions on every dirty trick, investigation, and smear campaign they could to undermine his presidency. The Hateraid from conservatives and the GOP attack machine was being consumed in 55 gallon drums. They attacked everyone that was close to him, including the First Lady and his daughter Chelsea.

Through it all, losing the Congress to a GOP landslide in 1994 and the impeachment trial over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he stayed focused on being the president for all of us. For the first time since the Carter administration, I felt included in 'we the people'. He was my generation's John F. Kennedy.

Happy birthday, Brother Bill. May you have many more.

Happy Birthday to His Royal Badness

Break out that copy of 'Purple Rain' and toast it with some grape juice. Today is Prince Rogers Nelson's birthday. The rest of the world knows him as Prince. His fans call him 'His Royal Badness'.

Prince is one of my favorite artists. His first album 'For You' came out when I was a high school junior. I was amazed to find out that he played several instruments on the album in addition to producing it himself.

His sound continued to evolve during the 80's. It melded elements of rock, punk, and soul with sometimes controversial sexually-tinged lyrics like on 1980's 'Uptown' albumn. It was dubbed the 'Minneapolis Sound' and later groups such as The Time and Vanity 6 would form. Singers Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, Karyn White and the SOS Band would later ride the producing talents of Time members James 'Jimmy Jam' Harris and Terry Lewis to hit status. In Janet Jackson's case she became a superstar thanks to these gentlemen.

But back to the birthday boy. I still laugh about a 1981 Prince concert I attended in which he broke into a rousing encore version of 'Controversy' that was rocking The Summit (later Compaq Center). This particular concert was scheduled on a Sunday. When he got to the part of 'Controversy' that includes the Lord's Prayer and implored everyone to pray with him, the up until that point raucous crowd became quiet. The gentleman that had the seats next to mine and my date said to us, "Prince is my boy, but I ain't playing with God."

Turned out Prince's spiritual side wasn't an act. Songs such as 'I Would Die 4 U' and 'The Holy River' gave some insight into that side of his persona. He's also done some songs with political commentary such as 'Ronnie Talk To Russia', 'Sign O' The Times, and 'Cinnamon Girl'.

Speaking of acting, 1984 saw the release of the movie 'Purple Rain' which I and my brother attended the day it opened wearing a purple '1999' T-shirt along with the other faithful Prince fans that packed the theater. After that Prince wasn't an R&B fan's best kept secret. The movie became a big hit along with the movie soundtrack.

His battle with Warner Brothers over control of his master tapes and for increased artistic freedom led him to change his name to an unpronouncable symbol for a few years and perform concerts with the word SLAVE written on his face.

He has come back better than ever with 'Musicology' vaulting him back into musical prominence. In my eyes he never left that status.

Happy birthday, Prince.