Tamara Johnson-George: Difference between revisions
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Undid revision 293032792 by 98.212.129.124 (talk) Step one: go to youTube. Step two: pick any SWV song & press play. |
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Johnson was recruited into SWV (then known as Female Edition) by [[Coko|Cheryl “Coko” Gamble]], who would become SWV's lead singer.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.myspace.com/swvlelee|title = Lelee's MySpace page|quote = After several members and name changes, Cheryl knew a girl from Brooklyn named Tamara. Tamara was a cute Chinky eyed chocolate girl whom we all just grew to love. After a few rehearsals Tamara was in.}}</ref> Johnson was known for her bubbly, upbeat personality. This caused friction between the group members - primarily between Johnson and Gamble, who felt that Johnson's cheerful demeanor shielded her from criticism from the press.<ref>{{citation | page = 69 | title = Player hateHER}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|quote = ...Coko really loved ''[Player hateHER]''; at the end, she actually apologized to me because she didn't realize how mean she was being in the early days that we would sing together. I was always considered 'the nice one', and the girls felt resentful toward me because they felt like 'no one ever complains about Taj and the things she does, she's not perfect!|url = http://www.soultracks.com/story-taj|title = Melody Charles interview with SWV's Taj|date = August 7, 2008}}</ref> |
Johnson was recruited into SWV (then known as Female Edition) by [[Coko|Cheryl “Coko” Gamble]], who would become SWV's lead singer.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.myspace.com/swvlelee|title = Lelee's MySpace page|quote = After several members and name changes, Cheryl knew a girl from Brooklyn named Tamara. Tamara was a cute Chinky eyed chocolate girl whom we all just grew to love. After a few rehearsals Tamara was in.}}</ref> Johnson was known for her bubbly, upbeat personality. This caused friction between the group members - primarily between Johnson and Gamble, who felt that Johnson's cheerful demeanor shielded her from criticism from the press.<ref>{{citation | page = 69 | title = Player hateHER}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|quote = ...Coko really loved ''[Player hateHER]''; at the end, she actually apologized to me because she didn't realize how mean she was being in the early days that we would sing together. I was always considered 'the nice one', and the girls felt resentful toward me because they felt like 'no one ever complains about Taj and the things she does, she's not perfect!|url = http://www.soultracks.com/story-taj|title = Melody Charles interview with SWV's Taj|date = August 7, 2008}}</ref> |
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Originally, Johnson was both a singer and an emcee; she can be heard rapping the bridge over ''[[Right Here/Human Nature|Right Here]]'' and ''[[I'm So Into You]]'', and is the primary female performer on the song ''Blak Pudd'n''. Johnson also co-wrote a number of SWV songs, including ''[[Right Here/Human Nature|Right Here]]'' from their debut album, ''[[It's About Time (SWV album)|It's About Time]]'', and ''[[You're the One (SWV song)|You're the One]],'' which also features Gamble as a co-writer.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.swvonline.com/credits.htm|title = SWV's Music|publisher = SWV Online}}</ref> Johnson abandoned rapping when ''[[New Beginning (SWV album)|New Beginning]]'' was released in 1996, shortly after the end of the [[new jack swing]] era, and began to sing leads (''It's All About U'', ''Give It Up'') and co-leads (''Lose My Cool'', ''Use Your Heart''). |
Johnson sings primarily in [[mezzo-soprano]], her voice sitting squarely between Gamble's soaring [[soprano]] and LeLee's rich [[contralto]] voice. Originally, Johnson was both a singer and an emcee; she can be heard rapping the bridge over ''[[Right Here/Human Nature|Right Here]]'' and ''[[I'm So Into You]]'', and is the primary female performer on the song ''Blak Pudd'n''. Johnson also co-wrote a number of SWV songs, including ''[[Right Here/Human Nature|Right Here]]'' from their debut album, ''[[It's About Time (SWV album)|It's About Time]]'', and ''[[You're the One (SWV song)|You're the One]],'' which also features Gamble as a co-writer.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.swvonline.com/credits.htm|title = SWV's Music|publisher = SWV Online}}</ref> Johnson abandoned rapping when ''[[New Beginning (SWV album)|New Beginning]]'' was released in 1996, shortly after the end of the [[new jack swing]] era, and began to sing leads (''It's All About U'', ''Give It Up'') and co-leads (''Lose My Cool'', ''Use Your Heart''). |
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Though early interviews and articles touted Johnson as around the same age as Gamble,<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n8_v49/ai_15405346/</ref><ref>{{cite web|first = Mike |last = Joyce | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-954865.html|title = On the Road With the Sisters|publisher = The Washington Post|date = July 9, 1993}}</ref> she is actually two years older than Gamble, having been born in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/bio/taj_18/bio.php?season=18|title = Taj: Survivor on CBS}}</ref><ref name="TamaraStory"/> |
Though early interviews and articles touted Johnson as around the same age as Gamble,<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n8_v49/ai_15405346/</ref><ref>{{cite web|first = Mike |last = Joyce | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-954865.html|title = On the Road With the Sisters|publisher = The Washington Post|date = July 9, 1993}}</ref> she is actually two years older than Gamble, having been born in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/bio/taj_18/bio.php?season=18|title = Taj: Survivor on CBS}}</ref><ref name="TamaraStory"/> |
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Revision as of 05:37, 29 May 2009
Tamara Johnson-George |
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Tamara Johnson-George, also known as “Taj” (born on April 29, 1971), is a singer, actress, author, and philanthropist. Best known as one-third of the singing group SWV, she was a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins.
Background
The youngest of six children, Johnson was raised in Brooklyn. Her father died of pancreatic cancer when she was nine. Johnson grew up in an abusive household; her mother, who was sick with bone cancer, was beaten regularly by her drug-addicted stepfather.[1] When Johnson would intervene on her mother's behalf, she was also beaten.
When Johnson was 14 years old, her mother died, which caused Johnson and her siblings to be parceled amongst several relatives; Johnson wound up with a cousin who molested her,[2] adding to the sexual abuse she had experienced over the years with other male relatives.[3] Johnson managed to graduate with honors from high school, and was accepted to Baruch College to study accounting. However, she left college – as well as a physically abusive boyfriend[4] - to join singing group Sisters With Voices, better known as SWV.
SWV
Johnson was recruited into SWV (then known as Female Edition) by Cheryl “Coko” Gamble, who would become SWV's lead singer.[5] Johnson was known for her bubbly, upbeat personality. This caused friction between the group members - primarily between Johnson and Gamble, who felt that Johnson's cheerful demeanor shielded her from criticism from the press.[6][7]
Johnson sings primarily in mezzo-soprano, her voice sitting squarely between Gamble's soaring soprano and LeLee's rich contralto voice. Originally, Johnson was both a singer and an emcee; she can be heard rapping the bridge over Right Here and I'm So Into You, and is the primary female performer on the song Blak Pudd'n. Johnson also co-wrote a number of SWV songs, including Right Here from their debut album, It's About Time, and You're the One, which also features Gamble as a co-writer.[8] Johnson abandoned rapping when New Beginning was released in 1996, shortly after the end of the new jack swing era, and began to sing leads (It's All About U, Give It Up) and co-leads (Lose My Cool, Use Your Heart).
Though early interviews and articles touted Johnson as around the same age as Gamble,[9][10] she is actually two years older than Gamble, having been born in 1971.[11][1]
Life after SWV
After SWV officially disbanded in 1997, Johnson was signed to a two-year contract with the Ford Modeling Agency. Shortly after this contract ended, Johnson began dating Tennessee Titan Eddie George, whom she'd met at a shopping mall in 1994.[12] Johnson contributed to the anthology Souls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits, which was published in 2000.
In 2002, Johnson enrolled in Belmont University in Nashville, earning a Bachelor's of Business Administration in May of 2004.[13] The following month, Johnson married Eddie in Rockleigh, New Jersey. Their son, Eriq Michael, was born in 2005[14] after a difficult pregnancy that left Johnson bedridden for the first five months of her pregnancy.[15] Johnson-George is also the stepmother of Eddie's first son, Jaire David, whom she refers to as her oldest son,[16] and the godmother of Gamble's oldest son, Jazz.[17]
Along with her best friend Katrina Chambers, Johnson-George wrote the book Player hateHER: How to Avoid the Beat Down and Live in a Drama-Free World in 2007. That same year, Johnson and husband Eddie starred in the reality TV show I Married a Baller, which depicted five weeks in the George household over a course of nine shows. The show focused on Johnson and her marriage to Eddie, her struggle to lose her "baby weight" (son Eriq was 17 months old at the time[18] ), and performing with SWV, who came together to perform the theme song of the show. Baller also highlighted Visions with Infinite Possibilities, the Georges' not-for-profit charity for survivors of domestic violence and their children.
Survivor: Tocantins
Johnson-George was recruited to Survivor after answering a casting call specifically looking for an NFL wife.[19] Prior to casting, Johnson-George had never watched Survivor and could neither swim nor fish. However, she turned out to be one of the strongest competitors of the season, and came in second to James "J.T." Thomas, Jr in the fan favorite vote.[20][21][22] Despite letting it be known that she was married to Eddie George, blowing up at her tribe mates and locking horns with Survivor host Jeff Probst, Johnson-George was one of only four Jalapao members (out of 8), as well as the only woman from her tribe, to make it to the merge. At the final episode Johnson-George was blindsided by her tribe and Erinn Lobdell and became the 6th member of the jury. In the end she voted for J.T., who won in a unanimous 7-0 vote.
Notes
- ^ a b "Tamara's Story". Visions with Infinite Possibilities.
- ^ episode #3 ("Road Trippin'"), I Married a Baller,
I was molested as a child. There was a cousin in the family, who would...who would make me do things.
- ^ Tamara's Story.
- ^ "Story: Taj". SoulTracks.com.
- ^ "Lelee's MySpace page".
After several members and name changes, Cheryl knew a girl from Brooklyn named Tamara. Tamara was a cute Chinky eyed chocolate girl whom we all just grew to love. After a few rehearsals Tamara was in.
- ^ Player hateHER, p. 69
- ^ "Melody Charles interview with SWV's Taj". August 7, 2008.
...Coko really loved [Player hateHER]; at the end, she actually apologized to me because she didn't realize how mean she was being in the early days that we would sing together. I was always considered 'the nice one', and the girls felt resentful toward me because they felt like 'no one ever complains about Taj and the things she does, she's not perfect!
- ^ "SWV's Music". SWV Online.
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n8_v49/ai_15405346/
- ^ Joyce, Mike (July 9, 1993). "On the Road With the Sisters". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Taj: Survivor on CBS".
- ^ "Eddie & Taj George". TCA INTV. 2007.
- ^ "SWV's Tamara "Taj" Johnson". HHNLive.com.
- ^ "Taj Gives Birth!". SWV Online.
- ^ "The Longest Yard". The Nashville News. March 17, 2005.
- ^ episode #3 ("Road Trippin'"), I Married a Baller,
I got my sons with me...my youngest is hyped. He's ready and excited, and my oldest is just excited to be on a bus.
- ^ "Coko Talks About SWV Breakup". Yahoo! Music. July 21, 1999.
- ^ episode #7 ("California Dreamin'"), I Married a Baller,
I'm still trying to get my little 17-month-old son's weight off!
- ^ "Taj Johnson-George". Reality Blurred.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 5". Entertainment Weekly.
Word on the street: People like Taj and I can see why. She's coming across as a likable, hard working, and industrious player.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 7". Entertainment Weekly.
By the way - so many people got upset last week because I said Taj was 'second tier' smart. It had nothing to do with her being a woman, it had to do with the way she is playing the game.
- ^ "Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 11". Entertainment Weekly.
Okay, I'll admit it. I had no idea Taj would be this well liked, even by me!...Taj is also smarter than I realized. She has mastered the art of staying out of the way.