The Musical Dna of Gregg Diggs: How a Club Dj Found Success in Radio, Music Videos, & the Music Industry

By Gregg Diggs

The Musical DNA of Gregg Diggs is a true story about a club DJs rise to prominence in several areas of the music industry. It chronicles his initial success on the club scene during the height of the disco era, which eventually leads to a triumphant guest DJ appearance at the legendary Studio 54 nightclub. The story continues with a revealing look at his unorthodox transition to radio and how he is discovered and mentored by radio legend Donnie Simpson.

After major success as a radio music programmer, he rises to higher heights in the music industry and lands the coveted and extremely powerful position of director of music video programming at Black Entertainment Television. At BET, he supervises the airplay of the music videos that air on the network and ultimately contributes to the success of many of todays music superstars. He also books the celebrity interviews and performances for BET, which allows him to meet and to rub elbows with the stars. This book reveals his behind-the-scenes stories about the inner workings of BET and also about his unbelievable encounters with Janet Jackson, L. A. Reid, Diana Ross, Prince, Puff Daddy, Madonna, and many more.

As the story continues to unfold, you will learn how this former club DJ eventually becomes one of the first music programmers in satellite radio history as he blazes a trail of innovation at WorldSpace Satellite Radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. This is a story about music and how it shaped, molded, and impacted the career of a very influential, successful, and highly respected music industry insider. This is a story about the musical DNA of Gregg Diggs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781532007040

Gregg Diggs

Music industry insider Gregg Diggs got his start in the music business as a club DJ in Washington, DC. He went on to find success as the music director at WKYS-FM Radio, music video programmer at BET, satellite radio pioneer at Sirius XM, songwriter, and music producer. He was a member of an elite group of DJs who played at the iconic Studio 54 nightclub, and he also played a major role in contributing to the success of music superstars like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Usher, Toni Braxton, and many more.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Gregory Diggs.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0703-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0704-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016914902

iUniverse rev. date: 09/12/2016

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Turntable & Mrs. Robinson

Chapter 2 Teenarama, The Birth of a Club DJ, & Gil Scott-Heron

Chapter 3 All This & Studio 54 Too?

Chapter 4 Rainforest & The Radio Legend

Chapter 5 The Traffic Jam & The Research Queen

Chapter 6 The Golden Era, The Kiss Kriminal, & The 60 Day Notice

Chapter 7 Goodbye KISS & Hello BET

Chapter 8 The New Sheriff in Town & Breaking New Artists

Chapter 9 BET: The Good, The Bad, & The Stars

Chapter 10 Madonna & Rap City

Chapter 11 Rosa Parks, The Grammys, & The Changing of the BET Guard

Chapter 12 The King of New Jack Swing, a Folder of Lyrics, & The Resignation

Chapter 13 The Aftermath, The Soul Train Awards, & I’ve Got Lyrics

Chapter 14 My First Song, Collaborations, & The RIP Off?

Chapter 15 The World Bank, Satellite Radio, & The African Queen!

Chapter 16 Back to R&B, The Godfather of Soul & Radio Amore

Chapter 17 Kool-Aid, Nubia, & Gidi Gidi Maji Maji

Chapter 18 Geez Dreemz, Back to Grammys, & The Record Promoter

Chapter 19 The Satellite Crashes & Geez Dreemz Becomes a Nightmare

Chapter 20 The BOC, Syndication, & The Next Chapter

THE INTRODUCTION

As I look back over my life, I know that God has blessed me tremendously and I will be eternally thankful to Him for everything that He has given me and allowed me to do and to see. Throughout the years, I have seen how He has orchestrated every aspect of my life and how He has worked in front and behind the scenes on my behalf. I realize that I could not have accomplished any of the things that I have been blessed to do without His divine grace and guidance.

I was inspired to write this book one day when I came across a box that had been unopened in a storage closet for years. When I curiously pulled off the tape and opened it, I discovered that the box contained assorted items of memorabilia from various stages of my career in the music industry. Although I have always been keenly aware of my overall career history, I neglected to realize that my career was actually divided into several distinct chapters and eras.

Searching through the contents of that box I saw Gregg Diggs, The Club DJ, The Radio Mix Show DJ, The Radio Programming Executive, The Television Programming Executive, The Satellite Radio Pioneer, The On-air Radio Personality, The Record Company Executive, The Music Producer, and The Songwriter. I found it very humbling to see just how diverse my career has been in its various incarnations and how adeptly I had managed to master the art of reinventing myself professionally.

For years, I’ve had several friends and colleagues tell me that I should write a book about my experiences, exploits, and contributions in the music industry. However, I never thought that anyone would be interested in the chronicles of my career, but the contents in that box convinced me that I did have a story to tell and that there just might be someone who would be interested in reading about it.

To set the record straight, this is not an autobiography or the story of my life. it is a career retrospective memoir that focuses on my experiences in the music industry. It’s a story about music and how it shaped me, molded me, and ultimately propelled me into my destiny. The events and the stories presented are written from my point of view, as I perceived them and as I remember them. Other parties involved may have different interpretations of the same events and even though I respect their perspectives, this memoir reflects mine.

When I decided to write this career memoir, I did not want it to be a scathing indictment of the music industry or the people that I’ve encountered during my professional career. It is not my style to cast aspersions on the character, the integrity, or the reputations of others. However, I realized that it would be disingenuous to only write about the positive things that happened during my career and not mention any of the conflicts, the adversities, or the defeats that I experienced. If the truth be told, the adversities forced me to become stronger and also helped me to grow spiritually and professionally.

Throughout the years, I have made my fair share of mistakes and I certainly have not been perfect. There were many situations that I could have handled with more discernment and wisdom and many decisions that were imprudent, at best. I have experience triumphant highs and devastating lows but ultimately, my story is a story of perseverance, resilience, and redemption. In many ways, it is uniquely unconventional and strikingly different from many of the other stories that have been written about the music business.

Meeting so many creative, innovative, and talented music industry professionals has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my musical journey. I consider myself truly blessed that my career has been influenced by such extraordinarily gifted people. This book is dedicated to them and to everyone else who helped me to learn, to evolve, to thrive, and to achieve my goals and dreams in the music industry. Thank you all for being a part of The Musical DNA of Gregg Diggs.

34468.png

CHAPTER 1

The Turntable & Mrs. Robinson

When I was a child, I used to have recurring dreams of myself floating in water, in total darkness. As I floated in the dark, I could hear a constant rhythmic thumping sound. Although logic dictates that they were merely dreams, I truly believe that they were actually my prenatal memories manifesting themselves through my dreams. I also believe that the thumping sound that I heard was the sound of my mother’s heartbeat.

Although those childhood memories are now somewhat hazy, I can still vividly remember being mesmerized by the constant beating of my mother’s heart. I am totally convinced that my insatiable love and passion for music began at the moment of conception and that music is deeply embedded in every single strand of my DNA. I know that music dwells deep down inside of me and that my Musical DNA can be found throughout every chapter of my life.

My first real encounter with music occurred when I was about two years old. I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast with my older sister and brother. I remember feeling so proud because I knew how to put my own butter and sugar in my oatmeal just like they did. As I sat there reveling in my culinary accomplishment and savoring my buttery-sweet oatmeal, my attention suddenly shifted from my bowl to the hypnotic sounds coming out of the radio on the kitchen counter. While my young mind was desperately trying to process what I was hearing, I found myself captivated by the angelic voice and the beautiful music flowing out of the radio. It was Doris Day singing her classic hit, Que Sera Sera and even though I didn’t understand what she was singing; I knew that I liked it and I knew that I wanted to hear more!

My fifth Christmas marked a pivotal moment that would change my life forever. When I woke up that morning, I frantically rushed to the Christmas tree to see if Santa Claus had given me the electric train set that I wanted. Much to my amazement, he did and I was so excited watching that train going around and around the tree. However, in the midst of the excitement of playing with my train, I happened to notice my sister, Doris listening to music on her brand new record player. I marveled as she took a vinyl record out of its album cover and carefully placed it on the turntable. As the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree faintly reflected off of the vinyl, Doris put the needle on the record. When the music began to play, I was mystified, amazed, and excited beyond belief!

Needless to say, at that moment, I was totally hooked and determined to do anything necessary to get my grubby little five-year-old hands on that turntable and those records. Although Doris reluctantly shared her priceless musical treasure with me on occasion, I used to sneak behind her back to get more quality time with the turntable that I so blatantly coveted.

After monopolizing my sister’s record player throughout that entire year, the following Christmas Santa gave me my own RCA record player and six albums. By that time, I had become more music savvy and I knew all of the songs and the artists in my sister’s music collection and all of mine, as well. It might be difficult to envision a five-year-old child listening to the music of Cannonball Adderley, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn, Miles Davis, and other jazz greats but I did and I loved every single note.

My love affair with music continued through the years but it intensified and shifted into overdrive when I hit puberty and my teenage years. By that time my family had moved several times and we were living in a two-bedroom apartment in Northeast Washington, D.C. Motown, Stax, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin had exploded on the music scene and of course, I was right there in the middle of the explosion. My siblings and I would pool our allowance money every week to buy the latest hits by The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and all of the other hot musical stars of that era.

Every Saturday, our eyes were glued to the television set to watch Soul Train because we could hear new songs by our favorite musical artists and watch them perform on the show. We also enjoyed watching those wild Soul Train dancers and we tried our best to copy their outrageously over the top dance moves. Miraculously, we didn’t break any bones; just a coffee table and a few lamps.

Although I loved R&B/Soul music, I also had a keen appreciation for a Rock & Roll and Pop music and I never missed the opportunity to watch American Bandstand and the Ed Sullivan Show on TV or listen to American Top 40 with Casey Kasem every week on the radio. To me, it was all about the music and good music had no color boundaries. I found that I could easily go from funkin’ it up with Sly & The Family Stone one minute, to rockin’ it out with The Rolling Stones the next. I realize now that my eclectic taste in music had already started to evolve, even at that early age.

Whenever there were any special family gatherings or parties, I always found a way to take control of the stereo system. My cousin Minnie, her husband, Charlie and their sons Dwight and Charles lived across the hall and we were all just one big happy extended family. I have so many fond memories of those family gatherings and how the music made them so special. I know now that those family parties laid the foundation for my future success in the music industry because that’s when I began to understand the power of music and the power of the person who controls it. That’s when I discovered that I had an innate talent to know how to read a crowd and to know how to select and play the songs that would make people excited. I would later learn how invaluable that talent would prove to be throughout my entire career.

Yes, those family parties played a major role in my musical development but one day, my mother did something that took my music listening experience to the next level. She blew us away when she bought a state of the art Hi-Fi Stereo system. She also bought two psychedelic light boxes that sat on top of the stereo and pulsated to the beat of the music. I thought I had died and gone to "Hi-Fi Heaven". It was truly a musical masterpiece but more importantly, it was Loud! Loud! Loud! I used to crank that sucker up full blast, as found myself lost in the music and also lost in the glorious glow of those hypnotic psychedelic lights.

Unfortunately for me, we lived in the downstairs unit in our apartment building. Our upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Robinson was an elderly woman who did not share my love and enthusiasm for Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, or any of the other music that I found irresistibly entertaining. Just like clockwork; every time I would get a good groove going with my music, Mrs. Robinson would angrily stomp on her floor, as a stern warning for me to turn the music down.

It was like we had our own little musical dance that we used to do. I would crank up my music and Mrs. Robinson would stomp on her floor. I would pretend that I didn’t hear her stomping and she would stomp even harder. I would turn the music down and then slowly increase the volume. She, in turn, would do her foot stomping tap dance routine until I finally stopped. I know I drove that poor woman crazy but I just couldn’t help myself. The music was inside my DNA and it was screaming to be heard. It refused to be ignored, muffled, or silenced by anyone or anything and unfortunately, that included poor old foot stomping Mrs. Robinson.

34468.png

CHAPTER 2

Teenarama, The Birth of a Club DJ, & Gil Scott-Heron

In junior high and high school, they called me The Music Man because every time someone had a party, my friends would ask me to bring my records. I always had all of the latest hits and I could read a crowd and instinctively know which songs to play. It was extremely exciting watching people respond so positively and passionately to the songs that I selected to play. It was definitely an adrenaline rush and a musical precursor to what was yet to come. I was also a member of a social club called The Mind Corruptors, which included some of my high school buddies. We became very popular around school because we had a reputation for throwing exciting house parties and cabarets, and of course, I was always right there playing the music for all of our events.

During this carefree and exhilarating pubescent period of my life, I also found myself in an even brighter musical spotlight when I became one of the dancers on The Teenarama Dance Party. Teenarama was an extremely popular live television show that aired in Washington, D.C., which featured local Black teens dancing to the hottest R&B hits. My sister, Doris, was the first in my family to appear on the show. I remember when she made her television debut, my brother and I were so excited and we were jumping around and screaming with joy as we proudly watched our sister strut her stuff on Teenarama. About a year later my brother, Arnold, started dancing on the show and he eventually became one of the regulars. Some of my fondest memories of growing up with my siblings are of me trying to outdo my brother as we both took turns practicing our hand dancing moves with our sister.

Finally, it was my turn and when I was old enough to