IT'S ANOTHER FORGOTTEN HITS EXCLUSIVE!!!
Our
buddy David Salidor put together this quick little Q & A with celebrity
author Mark Bego, who has brand new biographies out about Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. (Bego
is known as "the biographer of the stars" ... his Aretha Franklin book is his
59th!!! Mark also helped out with the Freddy Cannon bio "Where The Action Is",
which we've devoted quite a bit of space to lately.)
Author Mark Bego
Here's
a little background information on his latest efforts ...
DAVID SALIDOR: You currently have
“Whitney Houston: The Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall of the Woman Whose Voice
Inspired a Generation," out. How did you
manage to get that book published before anyone else?
MARK BEGO: I had written the
very first book on Houston in 1986 called Whitney! And in 2009, I wrote a book called Whitney Houston: Die Biografie that came
out in the German language, which was published right before her disastrous
European tour of 2010. The minute that I
heard about Whitney’s death, I began work on writing a new beginning and ending
on it. This is not a book I instantly
wrote. It is actually one I have been
working on for years.
DS: So, your book on Whitney
Houston is coming out in more than just the American
version?
MB: Skyhorse Publishing has
printed and distributed it in the U.S. and Canada in the English language. Plexus in London has it for England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, and New
Zealand.
Hannibal Books has it for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Les Editeurs Réunis is publishing it in French for French-speaking
Canada. And Beijing Normal University Press is
publishing it in China. In addition, it is being recorded in the
German language for a special books-on-CD version.
DS: How would you classify Whitney’s life
story?
MB: I refer to it as “a great American
tragedy.” Circa 1992, Whitney Houston
was the embodiment of an international superstar. She had recorded three multi-platinum albums
that made her one of the most highly-revered and sought-after singers on the
planet. Her beauty and her grace became
legendary. Unfortunately, her undoing,
her drug use, the loss of her voice, and her tragic demise has made this “a
great world tragedy.”
DS: How big a part did Bobby Brown play in
Whitney’s downfall?
MB: If you were to talk to Whitney’s
mother, Cissy Houston, I am certain that she would tell you: “Whitney would be here today if it had not
been for Bobby Brown.” What I classify
him as, is “an enabler.” If she was
looking for a “bad boy” to party with, and a person who would come along for the
ride while she destroyed her life, he was the man. However, Bobby Brown did not make her do
drugs. He did not make her destroy her
life. He merely helped and encouraged
her to do so.
DS: How do you think Whitney Houston will
be remembered?
MB: In the book I make a strong parallel
between Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston.
When you think of Billie, you think of her in a smoky jazz club with a
gardenia in her hair, and then you recall her tragic end due to drug abuse at
the age of 44. In time we will think of
Whitney as that lovely girl in the film The Bodyguard, and they we will recall
her downfall and her death at 48 as a secondary thought.
DS: You also have a new book in the
stores about Aretha Franklin, tell us about that.
MB: Originally I wrote the book Aretha Franklin: The
Queen of Soul in 1989. It was also
the first full biography about her to have been published. It was expanded in 2001, and reprinted. When Aretha became so deathly ill in 2009, I
knew that it was time to really do a full expansion of the book and to bring it
out again now, in time for her 70th birthday: March 25, 2012.
DS: Aretha’s own 2001 “autobiography” was
not well-received, while “Library Journal” has already heralded your 2012 book
for Skyhorse Publishing as being “definitive.” What does Ms. Franklin think of
you and your book?
MB: I know from several sources that
Aretha refers to me as “that awful Mark Bego.”
She dislikes me because I tell the truth about her. I tell the truth about her greatness, her
talent and her masterful voice. I also
tell the truth about her lack of fashion sense, the truth about her recent
weight loss, the truth about the husband who abused her, and the children she
had when she was only 14 and 16 years of age.
I tell the whole story.
DS: Have you ever interviewed Aretha
Franklin in person?
MB: I interviewed her in person, and I
spent an entire afternoon with her one-on-one in her house in Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan. The interview was done for
Westwood One Radio, and it also came with an entire list of what I was not
allowed to ask her. I was forbidden to
ask her about her sons, the murder of her father, the ex-husband who supposedly
abused her, her weight and her personal life in general. However, I am so easy to talk to, I got more
details than anyone else had gotten her to reveal. Towards the end of our interview she was also
supervising the frying of some chicken in her kitchen. As soon as the chicken was cooked, she
announced, “Chicken is done, interview is over!” and then showed me to the door
without offering me so much as chicken wing.
DS: How did you fill in all of the
fascinating details about the story about Aretha?
MB: I sought out and interviewed the most
important people in her life and her career.
I witnessed her father preaching in his church in downtown Detroit and found out all
sorts of things about him, like the 13-year-old girl he got pregnant. I personally interviewed Clyde Otis who
recorded her at Columbia Records, and he told me some wild tales. I interviewed
Jerry Wexler, who producer her records at Atlantic. I
interviewed Clive Davis, who brilliantly brought her career back in the
1980s. And I tracked down and
interviewed her ex-husband, Ted White.
DS: You just recently wrote a book with
Freddy Cannon called “Where the Action Is!” which has an Introduction by Dick
Clark. How did that come
about?
MB: It was Tom Cuddy who
proposed that project to me. I met
Freddy and his lovely wife, Jeanette, and it seemed to be the perfect
opportunity for me to work on his autobiography with him. I was a big fan of the Dick Clark 1960's TV
show Where the Action Is!, and Freddy
sang the theme song for that show. He is
a talented rock & roll original, and he still loves performing.
DS: You did a book with Micky Dolenz
called “I’m a Believer.” Where you
stunned by Davy Jones’ death, and what did The Monkees mean to
you?
MB: I was just crushed to hear of Davy’s
passing. I met him in the 1990's when I
was on a cruise ship with Mary Wilson of The Supremes, and Davy was the nicest
guy. I originally wrote “I’m a Believer”
with Micky in 1992. My interviewing him
came very really naturally for me, because I was a total Monkees fan when I was
growing up. The Monkees and More of The Monkees were amongst my
first 10 albums as a teenager, and I nearly wore them out I played them so
much.
DS: You wrote a book in 2009 called
“Elton John: The Bitch is Back.” There must have been a lot to talk about in
that.
MB: With someone as musically prolific as
Elton, my original manuscript was nearly 700 pages long. When you factor in his drug addiction, his
rehabilitation, and his devotion to raising money for AIDS research, it made for
quite a long and fascinating story. My
American publisher freaked out when they saw how extensive it was. Only my German publisher published the whole
thing.
DS: You were the first person to write a
book about Madonna, back in 1985, and you reprised her story in your book
“Madonna: Blonde Ambition.” How did you get into the middle of
that?
MB: When I first met her I was the
Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen
magazine, and I received a phone call from her publicist, asking me if I wanted
to interview her. I knew of her from her
disco hits like “Holiday.” When I found out that she was from my
hometown of Pontiac,
Michigan, I really knew that I
wanted to meet her. This was before she
had even released “Like a Virgin,” and I knew from the moment we met, that she
was destined to be a huge star. I was
also on the set of her first hit movie, Desperately Seeking
Susan.
DS: You also did the first
book about the rock group Three Dog Night, which you wrote with that band’s
keyboard player, Jimmy Greenspoon. How
did that come about?
MB: I am thrilled to report that Jimmy
sought me out originally, and I had a wonderful time working with him on our
book One is the Loneliest
Number. The first 10 albums that I
bought as a teenager included: The
Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, and Three
Dog Night. At the time I could never
have dreamed that I would one day write books on, with, or about all of
them!
DS: Several of your books started out as
small paperbacks in the 1980's, and you later expanded them into hard covers in
the 2000's, including your book “Cher: If You Believe.” How did that come
about?
MB: Several of my favorite performers
whom I wrote books about back in the ’80s have had careers that have just grown
and expanded since that time. Who could
have predicted that Cher, Bette Midler, Whitney
Houston, and Madonna would not only still be recording, but still be considered
active superstars in the new Millennium?
Now that Cher and Madonna are going back
on tour this year, perhaps it’s time for the third version of those books,
too!
DS: You have had quite the career in this
business. Your first book was “The Captain & Tennille” in 1977, and your
latest book, on Aretha Franklin is your 59th. When are you going to write your own
book?
MB: Actually I wrote a memoir in 2010
that I call Paperback Writer. If anyone wants to read about my crazy
adventures in the music business, it is all there, — a paperback! Some of my most favorite chapters in that
book are about my adventures with my dear Supreme friend Mary Wilson. The title of memoir is a perfect one, because
I am the Paperback Writer!
Thanks, David, for sharing your conversation with Mark Bego
with our readers. All of these books are available through Amazon.com ... here
are some of the key links:
Whitney Houston - http://www.amazon.com/Whitney-Houston-Spectacular-Inspired-Generation/dp/1620872544/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331500003&sr=1-4
Aretha Franklin - http://www.amazon.com/Aretha-Franklin-The-Queen-Soul/dp/1616085819/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331500055&sr=1-3
Freddy Cannon - http://www.amazon.com/Where-Action-Is-Freddy-Cannon/dp/1462639739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331500079&sr=1-1
