From the Motown Alumni Association..........Facebook [Archive]

View Full Version : From the Motown Alumni Association..........Facebook

test

jobeterob

10-15-2011, 12:46 PM

Billy Wilson

The MAA needs money really bad. Just to keep the basic maintenance together is a chore. Please donate, we don't ask for much, our services have been free for 16 years, and we've done a very good job considering the trial and tribulations we've gone through. We spend about $1000 a month just to keep the lights on and information flowing. Your assistance is so very needed. People ask all the time if... they can help, and this is the perfect way to contribute to our journey.

Click on the link to donate.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=HJXN5FMFWLYVU

If you don't have a paypal account don't worry, there's an area at the bottom of the page that allows you to skip Paypal, and use a regular credit card; or you can send a

check or money order to:
Motown Alumni Association
Attn: MAA Donations
15821 Stout St.
Detroit, Michigan 48223

Make Checks Payable to:
"Motown Alumni Association"

paladin

10-15-2011, 01:17 PM

I saw this on the MAA page .......thanks ........

jobeterob

10-16-2011, 03:02 AM

What does the Motown Alumni Association do exactly?

Penny

10-16-2011, 10:17 AM

I will send some money to the Motown Alumni Association. Does anyone know if Marci still works there? I really enjoyed her posts and she was one of the best eavesdroppers I ever knew. Please tell her hello and I hope my check will help Marci out.

Penny:D

smark21

10-16-2011, 01:41 PM

I remember Marcy as well. She was a hoot and loved to dish on the internet after eavesdropping on conversations Billy Wilson would have with Motown alumni.

robbert

10-16-2011, 09:27 PM

Jobeterob, here is [[part of) your answer [[taken from the MAA's Facebook page):

Billy Wilson
WARNING: THIS IS VERY LONG, SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO READ, DO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO!

One of the Motown Alumni [[that I barely talk to) called me and chowed me out about the MAA. Told me that the organization is a fraud, and not official, and doesn't have merit or clout anywhere in the Motown community, particularly in the upper tier of Motown crest of people. At first I was going to hang up on ...this person, but I'm not accustom to ducking running and hiding from a challenge to my dignity and or credibility.
So I calmly and carefully explained my position, this is what I said;

Through out history people like me [[usually called reporters and journalist) have been talking about and telling stories about people they either never met, and or know and admire.

I'm no different than they are. The Motown Alumni Association was originally built to help my friend Martha Reeves to join up with her comrades before funerals, where they seem to all come together the most.

The organization since 1995 has become huge on its own, with thousands of fans that love people like yourself. Our organization is the only organization in the world were you can literally find most of the Motown celebrities in one place. Even if we don't know them we certainly can find them.

When we tell the Motown stories our purpose is to get to the facts. We are not trying to act like we are the official anything, and to be honest with you, we don't want to be. This way our information can be impartial. So when you tell us your story, we don't have a slanted view of that story because of our invested interest.

In your world, we have no credibility, but I beg to differ because your world is not the whole world of Motown or earth for that matter. Our information spans around the world, not in just one community, and as we tell your story we try to make sure the people got it straight. With due respect, in the 21st century... we are more popular than you are! But in OUR world, you are an icon with everyone else that we talk about.

I don't have to be popular in your world, I've created my own world that includes you. That world has 5,000,000 email consumers that get our information, over 1,000 + news organization that receive our news, over 20,000 members worldwide, 25 branches around the world, and so on and so on... there is no comparison! As nasty as you have been to me in this conversation, I still honor your work, skills, and ability to do what you do, and do what you have done.

I don't need to ever talk to you to tell the world about you, and when you are gone off this earth, we will still give you the honor your family will be proud of in the future.

We don't have challenger; do you realize that we are going on 3 generation since the beginning of Motown? This generation don't care and or give a squat about you, Motown or anything about you or our generation. Our company keeps your name visible in the eyes of the young. We find different ways to make your world exciting and possible to them... and did I say we are the only ones? We didn't come to you asking for anything, and if we do come asking you'd think $1 is worth all we've done to keep your name alive. You said we are making money off of your name, honestly not a single Motowner has given ANYTHING significant enough to even mention as a donation or love offering. I can easily move on to developing an R&B Society or organization that would appreciate more than I've ever gotten. I had no true reason for doing this except for one... to help my friend. This thing ha gotten so big, I've almost abandoned that friendship to help people like yourself too. So if you don't have anything good to say its best to say nothing. You said that you could bring us down with our fraudulent practices. We work under no money, but in 16 years we have created a monster organization that is respected around the world. We have helped numerous artists to get their lives back together, and found ways to help with medical expenses, and serious operation. We recently 2010 were called upon to participate with FBT [[Eminem's publishing Co.) in a landmine court case that allows people like you to possibly get 50% of digital royalties, we bought some 3D HD 1080 cameras to help young people to fray the cost of making a professional video - then we offered a $250,000 equity Grant to the kids in Detroit for us to come and make their video funded from that grant; we signed a 10,000,000 3 year Equity Grant with Stillman College in Tuscoloosa, Alabama to create a program [[start a nationally distributed record company) in their school to encourage students to come to school, we are working with Wayne State University's Engineering Department with the LifeVision 3D without glasses project [[currently); this is high tech technology on a University level heading into the 22nd century... do you want me to go on... I still have at least a dozen more impressive projects we are involved with currently. If you don't have anymore to say, sit back, relax, and let us tell the world how great you are, we are the only ones doing it... and it's free. If you feel you need to destroy a good thing... go for it. Because my world has been with me for over a decade and they have seen the work we have done, you are the only one lagging behind in the 20th century. The power of our communication is wide spread. Where you will do one blast [[for cost reasons) I can run a campaign that would trump anything you try. If it hurts you so much to see our efforts succeed, and that's something you feel you need to do, we will take you one without blinking; but I find it a shame that you can't see the bigger picture after what I've told you about is. Virtually everything I've said is on record on the Internet, and have been for months and even years. Instead of trying to match wits lets work together to keep the flame alive, cause after you and I are gone... who will talk bout your deeds and accomplishments? I want to put things in place so that your grand children and great-great grand children can look back and say...son or daughter, he is one of our relatives.

So if you don't want to do that...don't call me again with this trivial news, because I'm to busy talking good about you, and I don't need you to destroy all that love I'm showing!

jobeterob

10-16-2011, 10:40 PM

Thanks Robbert.

Despite his warning, I did read through it all.

My goodness.

smark21

10-17-2011, 07:45 AM

Thanks Robbert.

Despite his warning, I did read through it all.

My goodness.

The tone of the response doesn't give me much confidence in his professionalism.

Penny

10-17-2011, 11:11 AM

Marcy must not work there anymore. That could explain why the organization isn't more professional so maybe I won't send a check after all. Maybe I will send my check to this website instead.:rolleyes:

jobeterob

10-17-2011, 01:01 PM

I wonder who the artist was that made the contact. I would imagine it was his final contact.

mirage

10-17-2011, 01:09 PM

MAA … Billy Wilson… What a jokester…

Wilson actually wants PayPal funds, checks and cash on the pretext that he is the face keeping Motown artists visible to the public as the president of a [[what can best be described as a “phony”) Motown Alumni Association.

This entire posting by Wilson is so inane that responding to it is like responding to a cartoon character that my kids might TV-tube watch on non-soccer Saturday morning.
The Motown Alumni Association is nothing but a shell organization comprised mostly of fan-based members that need to bailout of this sinking Detroit automobile and form an actual Motown Fan Club. I would consider paying dues to such an organization.

The MAA is NOT a non-profit organization as it purports to be [[check it out on the IRS charitable organization site); NOR is it associated with the real Motown and the real Motown family alum; and it is actually performing a disservice to Motown alumni by perpetuating what constitutes nothing more than a self-serving Motown family wannabe who simply lives in a “make believe” world where he assumes the role of Berry Gordy [[as does another Detroiter). If I were BG, I would be either amused; or angered at this portrayal. Well , Halloween is almost upon us … I think I’ll dress up as Smokey!

Most MAA news is lifted from other news sources and then placed by Wilson on the MAA Web site. Most of the time, he does not give attribution to the true source. However, he garners attention, when alleged well-informed music writers such as Susan Whitall of the Detroit News actually boosts Wilson’s non-existent Motown ties and credibility by crediting him with lifted material, such as Wilson’s Wikipedia paste-up on Marv Tarplin. [[Guitar Hero on … Marv!… still the best wherever you are playing.) Hey … Whitall if you are on this site and post here … how about retracting the quote you attributed to Wilson and give it to Wikipedia!
If a college such as Stillman accepts anything from Wilson and provides anything of value to him, including giving the MAA/Wilson hard-strapped college cash for worthless “equity”, I suggest parents rethink sending their kids to Stillman and apply to Morehouse or another university of choice.
Lastly, if Motown fans want to read about Motown search the WWW and get the real stories; multimedia; and photos of the real Motown alumni. And I’ll purchase Motown books of value for my music library. This is my personal opinion.
I won’t be PayPaling into the pocket of the MAA. I will donate my hard-earned cash to a local Detroit area homeless shelter; an after school program for kids; an animal shelter; or to bury a musician who simply made some bad choices and ended up penniless. Choices …
I’ll get my Motown news from their actual news source; not from an MAA cut & paste. Wilson might be a nice guy in real life … but he is not; nor will he ever be a Motown original.

jillfoster

10-17-2011, 01:14 PM

I'm dying to know who this was, too. Maybe bayoumotownman can tell us, he claims to know everything about every Motown artist.

dianesfan_1965

10-17-2011, 01:15 PM

Wicked pissa!

jobeterob

10-17-2011, 01:50 PM

I wonder if Mirage was the artist! Are you?

Good research Robbert and good posting Mirage. Stay with this Forum.

I've always thought something wasn't quite right with the MAA.

If you are a fan, it's best to just stick with the line "I'm a fan" or perhaps "I'm the Tempts biggest fan" or something like that. Don't fluff it up beyond what it is.

1382hitsville

10-17-2011, 02:05 PM

This is interesting. Common sense is not to give money to people you can not look in their eyes.

All though, after being a member for years of this forum I've donated for the refurbishment of this site.

We all know the story of former Motown artists that could not pay for medical bills and funerals. That is the reason Universal has set up a fund in 2001. More information about this fund can be found via this link:

http://www.universalmusic.com/corporate/news35063
or
http://www.motownumgfund.com/main.html

smark21

10-17-2011, 09:26 PM

Mirage, I'm no Billy Wilson fan, but you are aware that anyone can write and edit a Wikipedia entry? It's not like they have a staff of writers. The "staff" are those site users who contribute to it, so it's plausible that Billy Wilson could have edited the Marv Tarplin entry to call him a guitar god. And even if he didn't, calling someone a guitar god is not exactly fresh or novel, in fact, the term is a tired cliche.

I remember a few years ago when she was still a part of this forum, Katherine Anderson posted about attending an Inkster Days summer festival in her hometown. She ran into Billy Wilson there who was escorting a group of fake Marvelettes around to promote and perform at the event. She called him out for being a two faced--advocating against fake groups at the MAA website, then turning around and promoting a fake Marvelettes group in the group's hometown Inkster at their summer community festival. I just don't think he's to be trusted.

Also I remember his blabbermouth cousin Marcie posting on Yahoo after listening in on his phone conversations. He always had these grandiose plans that came to nothing, such as a Motown homecoming concert to be held at Comerica Park.

jobeterob

10-17-2011, 10:44 PM

Well, all of this has been an eye opener.

Leaving music aside, public appeals for money need to be viewed very cautiously.

Thanks for all the information.

mirage

10-18-2011, 05:20 AM

I am fully aware of the Wiki-problems and agree with you, but in this case I think the article as written is too literate to be Wilson's. I also believe that Wiki-Whitall from the Detroit News needs to verify facts and quotes before including them
in a news story. She lifted the quote and pasted it into the story. Billy is the cut & paste king; Whittal may soon earn the title of cut & paste queen. She enables Wilson to play in a "make believe" Motown world where he assumes the role of a legendary Motowner.

And does anyone get the feeling that Whittal is a troller and posts on various Motown sites ...? As far as the Motown Museum & BG - whatever happened to those Universal millions given to the Museum to make something of itself ... and why can't the Museum launch a real alumni association? A real Motown fan club would also be welcome. The Motown Museum is a disgrace. Community events, programs, exhibits, etc.?

I visited the Stax Museum in Memphis ... what a huge difference between the two. Pricing is reasonable for their events and great programs for kids, families, seniors, etc.

I understand that there will be a Motown event next year. It is to be more of an awards recognition event. Motown alums can once again expect to pay an exorbitant ticket fee so that they can be snubbed while awards are given to the "same old song" group. Maybe the funds raised can repay Universal or be sent to the Stax Museum for real events and programming.

Motown needs to get its act together and save itself and its history. I would like to see real movement toward
positive changes at the Museum. Detroit needs this iconic music label to step up and keep the vinyl spinning. These are
just my opinions and observations.

marv2

10-20-2011, 10:44 PM

Roberta75

10-23-2011, 10:21 AM