Disclaimer & Edits

DISCLAIMER: The editor and publisher of Musicwoman Magazine reserve the right to correct any misnomers or misstatements in the magazine made by advertisers, writers, and other contributors.

[These corrections come from those featured in the Musicwoman Magazine, Spring 2020.]

Dear Joan,

I want to congratulate you on your wonderful magazine.  It is superb!  You are wonderful and we are all blessed to have you on this planet and so deeply involved in our lives!!!

Thank you for your beautiful mind and your commitment to follow your dreams.

Bright Moments and Love

Melba Joyce

Here are some things I did not mention during my interview:

  • I made two tours to Viet Nam. In 2014, the Department of War requested that I be a part of the celebration and built a float for me for the Veterans Day Parade. I sang an original song about my memories of my tours. I sang it along the parade route. I was the first black woman to make the tour to the war zone.
  • I created and produced A Women’s Jazz Festival at The Schomburg for Research in Black Culture in New York, which they continue to present for the last 23 years.
  • I am a Jazz Ambassador through competition, with an assignment to six countries in Africa.
  • I narrated a documentary addressing the gentrification in Harlem.
  • I received the Jazz Legend and Artist Award from Black Women in Jazz.
  • Although I denied having written music to existing lyrics, I wrote new lyrics to Fats Waller’s composition Jitterbug Waltz.
  • I am an award-winning songwriter.
  • Lincoln Center’s Mid Summer Night’s annual festival featured my 18-piece band, with some of New York’s most esteemed musicians, including nine women and nine men.

The misstatements are:

  • My professional name as a vocalist is Melba Joyce, not Melba Joyce Bradford.
  • The second paragraph stated that my birthday is in August, but it is in September.
  • It stated that I live in a Brownstone apartment. I do not.
  • My son’s name is misspelled. Karl’s name is spelled with a C – Carl.  It states that I was teaching at NYU, when I am a professor at Medgar Evers College.
  • The story about my singing with a teenage neighbor was miswritten.
  • In the third section, on the first page, it stated that I commuted to Denton, TX, while my husband was in the Air Force. But he was stationed in San Antonio, TX, and Denton is hundreds of miles from San Antonio.
  • On p. 55, third paragraph, it stated that Louis Armstrong told me that I was going to sing, Misty in C.  A musician never dictates a key to a vocalist. This is crucial since young vocalists read the magazine.
  • In the first column, the last paragraph, I am misquoted about Bobbie attending Huston Tillotson College while we were in Crockett. Later, it stated that I attended Huston Tillotson College.
  • Benny Carter was an important musician in my career. Rex Stewart, who had just come off the road with Duke Ellington, made a valuable observation about my singing and gave me Benny’s information.
  • Page 57, In the second section, the third paragraph she wrote that I called Tiny Little a racist dog when I spoke to the agent. I did not make this statement. I would never make such a statement in public. I am puzzled that she wrote this.
  • Page 57, about the newspaper article with the headline, “Poor Melba, someone ripped off her name.” The statement read, “someone stole her name.” Melba Moore did not assume my name. Her name was not Beatrice Melba Newman. It was Beatrice Melba Hill.
  • The article stated I made sure that Carmen found her way. This was not true, altogether. Carmen inherited my voice, but God placed her where she belonged. Also, in this paragraph, it stated that I attended Houston Tillotson. This is the same paragraph where I mentioned that Carmen had a scholarship to San Francisco State. This should be deleted.
  • At the end of the first paragraph, I do not understand, “the jazz clubs were closing, and I knew that I had to go to New York, the place everyone goes to clear themselves.”

I am displeased with some of the information in this article. Your magazine was the perfect place for me to get publicity. I really appreciate your giving me this opportunity. I am grateful for my 60 years on the road and am still performing. So, it is not over.

Bright Moments,

Melba Joyce

The ad for NLAPW was larger than a 1/4 page ad. This is the larger ad:

nlapwboca

Corrections to Musicwoman Magazine Spring 2019

  1. The cover photo of Gayelynn McKinney is credited to Barbara Barefield.
  2. On p. 28 the paragraph should read: Although researchers have explored the phenomenon of the challenges faced by women musicians, very little prior research has shown that women jazz musicians lack the necessary business skills to succeed. The benefit gained from this research study will be utilized to show young women jazz musicians the importance of business education in this $15.5 billion music industry in the United States (Anonymous, 2016).