Back in the early 80's is when I really decided that it was time to go after this thing. I was in my early twenties. That's when I started my training with the vocals real hard. I went to The East Harlem School of Music and also The Brooklyn Conservatory. I started hitting it real hard. I wanted to sing, I wanted to sing, I wanted to sing. There was an artist named Jocelyn Brown from the group, Inner Life. She had a song called, "Ain't No Mountain High", which was a remake of the very old classic. Just the way she riffed it was incredible. Those high notes from the beginning to the end she just sang that song. It was one of the biggest hits in the club scene and when it played, the whole club just started to scream. I just loved her and that was the song that I practiced my vocals with every single day. I hit every note, every riff and then I knew that I was good. Jocelyn Brown inspired me. I saw her perform at the Paradise Garage and the whole place was just out of control.
One day I had the honor of meeting her at the infamous record shop, Downtown Records. She was doing an in-store promo for, "Caught Up In One Night Love Affair". The store owner, Frankie Ramos, knew how I felt about her and he was one of the first ever that knew that I wanted to sing and knew how I felt about Jocelyn. He introduced us and I almost passed out. "Oh my God.......I am standing here with one of my idols. I just love this woman". I got a chance to talk to her and tell her about my dreams to be a singer one day. She gave me such incredible words and insight and she told me that I could do it. She wrote me an autograph that said, "Keep on pursuing your dreams. You can do it"......I never ever forgot that.
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