Originally Posted by
midnightman
Here's the thing about this film: I think he obviously changed many things about it. It was originally going to be a comedy but the Dells were like "dude, these were serious times, we went through hell, i.e., being raised in the inner city, risen up the ranks in the chitlin' circuit, dealing with racism, etc." but whereas the Dells managed to beat the odds against 'em [[AFAIK there's no history of drug abuse, arrests or even intra-conflicts, like there were with the Temptations, which is what he also seemed to base the film on, albeit very exaggerated).
But from what I gather, yeah, Big Red was based after Don Robey, who actually beat the ish out of a pre-fame Little Richard when he demanded royalties so Bird could've been a LR and Jackie Wilson doppleganger. I think Jackie asked about royalties too.
Parts of where you can tell it's based on the Dells:
The fact the Dells were originally a sextet, as were, technically at least, the Five Heartbeats [[Duck wasn't even an official member, he was their songwriter and backing pianist)
The Dells originally had two brothers, Lucius & Mickey McGill; Lucius ended up leaving the group; so did the Five Heartbeats [[Duck and JT)
Both groups look like they were based in Chicago [[correct me if I'm wrong)
The Dells' anger over white faces being featured on their album covers [[which was true for most black vocal groups; the cover in the Five Heartbeats' album mimicked the cover used for the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine" album)
I guess, correct me again, the Dells had Cholly Atkins helping them with their choreography [[Cholly in the Five Heartbeats' film was Harold Nicholas' "Sarge")
Other than that, I don't know any more similarities!
Jimmy's murder... did the Dells have a manager that was murdered similarly?
Did the Dells members accuse others of sleeping with the same woman? Because if that was the case, why stay together? Because they weathered storms together but I doubt it was that crazy! Now the Temptations on the other hand...
I know some of the Dells members probably dealt with religious fathers and distant fathers but I don't know their back story. They should've gotten together with David Ritz and wrote a book when all of the members were still alive. But it seems the altercations with Eddie and Choirboy's fathers in the Five Heartbeats film was based after Marvin Gaye [[correct me if I'm wrong).
Eddie & Babydoll's relationship could've been based off any of the Motown relationships at the time.
Just so many questions. I don't think Robert respected the Dells at all. He turned what could've been a respectable film about the rise of an African American vocal group and turned it into such a hackneyed film, especially in part 2 when they head into the 1970s singing EIGHTIES FUNK. Still not over that transition and the singer sounded like Barrington Henderson lol
It was definitely an attempt to Temptations-ize the Dells.
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