17 Points To Longevity In Show Business: Staying Focused On Your Vision

Copyright © 2004 by Stephanie Spruill

Los Angeles, California

All Rights Reserved

Printed and Bound in the United States of America

Cover Design by Gary Scott: A3Arts & Mario M. Rodriguez: MMR Designs Solution Formatting & Interior Design by: Caldonia Joyce

First Printing, November 2004

Second Printing, May 2018

1098765432

ISBN Hardcover: 0-9759654-7-6

ISBN Softcover: 9781543936667

ISBN eBook: 9781617924057

Contact Stephanie Spruill at

Spruill House Music, Inc.

spruilhous@gmail.com

Stephaniespruill.net

Spruillhousemusic.com (626) 797-2429

Facebook.com/Stephaniespruill

Twitter.com/Stephaniespruil

Instagram.com/@spruilhous

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911792

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Dedicated to

my parents,

William L. Spruill

and

Olivia P. Spruill

YOU PLANTED THE SEED.

IT’S YOUR SHOULDERS THAT I NOW STAND ON.

~Your loving daughter,

Stephanie

Acknowledgments

hroughout my personal life and career, many people have helped me become the person I am today. They have taught me life lessons that still accompany me throughout my life’s journey.

I would like to show my appreciation to them now by saying thank you and I love you all. My desire is to thank as many as I can, but for those not mentioned, you know who you are, and I thank you and appreciate you as well.

First and foremost, I want to give all Praise and Glory to my Heavenly Father God, for whom the words Thank You seem so inadequate. I could never say thank you enough to my father and mother; my love for them both is everlasting. Mom and Dad were my first educators, and I loved and respected them with all of my heart. I will always appreciate my father, William Lewis Spruill, Big Daddy, for his compassion and class, and my mother, Olivia Peoples Spruill, for not being afraid of being unique. My mother taught me the beauty of imagination and to always dare to dream. She also taught me my entrepreneurial skills.

To my darling husband, Melvin Brewster, thank you for your unfailing love and support. To my beautiful daughter and best friend, Yolanda Palomo, you are the love of my life. Yolanda, thank you for helping me with 17 Points to Longevity in Show Business. I will always respect your advice and give you my unconditional love. You are my biggest fan and favorite critic. To my twin granddaughters Layla and Leah Elliott, the two of you are gifts from God. You both bring me so much joy and I’m so blessed to be called your grandmother.

A very special thank you goes to my supportive siblings:

To my brother, William (Bunky) Spruill, thanks always for believing in me before anyone knew of my talent. He molded me and helped me to realize my potential. Much love and appreciation to my older sister, Jamina, whom I always looked up to because of her style and grace. Elliott, I think you’re brilliant. Thank you for keeping our family together during challenging times. Carter, you are a hard worker, loyal husband and father, I appreciate you. Lyle thanks for house sitting for me when I was on tour. Kenneth, thank you for your positive energy regarding show business. And to you, brother Byron, I will always appreciate you for your classical music and foreign language abilities.

To all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins, thank you so much for your support. To my nephews and nieces, I love you, and I’m proud of all of you.

Now, to the Divas and Divos, my fellow musicians and friends, I owe you my gratitude: special thanks to Tommy Roberts and Evelyn Freeman Roberts for giving me the skills and exposure I received as a young singer performing with The Young Saints. Thank you, David Crawford, for referring me to Jerry Peters who hired me to sing with the group, The Reason Why, with Jim Gilstrap and Lani Groves. Without you, David, I wouldn’t be where I am today. To my first professional mentor, Jerry Peters, thank you for writing the Foreword for my book, and for sharing your musical genius and faith in God with me. Thank you, Harvey Mason, for teaching me how to play the tambourine and for referring me to my first golf instructor. Thanks also to David T. Walker, for trusting that I could sing and play the tambourine well enough to be in your band. Thanks, too, for all those Happy Birthday calls over the years. Thanks to Merry Clayton-Amy for teaching me how to be a vocal contractor in the beginning of my career. Thanks to you, Gloria Jones, for teaching me how to arrange background vocals. Thanks also to Ms. Tina Turner, you told me that I had a special sound and to always remain unique, for that I owe you my gratitude.

A special thank you to Mr. Stan Schneider, my business manager, for staying in my corner for 35-plus years. Thanks to my dear friend, Brenda Andrews, for encouraging me to become a vocal coach. Thanks to you, Dr. Jose Guindi, for your unwavering support and for exposing me to world cultures from a first class perspective. Thank you so much Julio Iglesias, for your passion for music and life. Thank you also, Julio, for that conversation regarding my future in show business; I was listening. Thank you, Billie Barnum, for teaching me how to invest my money wisely.

Julia Tillman Waters, I’ll thank you always for giving me the Born Again Christian prayer. Thank you, Maxine Waters, for giving me scriptures that I still recite to this very day. Oren Waters, many thanks for your positive energy and great smile. Gregory Wright, I am eternally grateful for your friendship, your talent, and for always letting me use your recording studio. Thank you Ronnie Hasley and Michiko Hill, for being my musical directors over the years. Thank you, Susan Nelson-Lombardo and Robert Pee Wee Hill for all of your support.

My special thanks goes to my manager/best friend Robyn Carmona. Your Visual Artistry and Social Media skills are unmatched. Robbie Montgomery for our life-long friendship and having me as a reoccurring cast member on your NAACP Image Award-winning television show Welcome To Sweetie Pie’s. Patricia Hodges for our great friendship, and for the spiritual connection that we share. Thank you to all of my band members, designers/makeup artists and behind the scenes workers who made me sound and look great over the years. Thank you William Mickey Stevenson for always believing in me!

Thank you, Wren Brown, for your eloquent words of encouragement. To Miss Sandy Brown, Nick St. Royal, Juan Rivera and Japhena Musson thank you all for doing a great job as my office assistants.

Thanks to my technical guru Vincent Thomas-Penny who built my recording studio, introduced me to Mac computers & digital recording.

Thanks so much to Flo Jenkins for final-editing my book and Caldonia Joyce for formatting my book.

Last, but not least, thank you, Dr. Rosie Milligan, for teaching me about letting my intellectual properties come to fruition. A special acknowledgment to all of my Spiritual advisors…Thank you all for your Prayers.

God Bless You One And All!

Foreword

’ve known Stephanie Spruill for 35 years, and I watched her recreate a career that began as a singer/performer into what has become a multiplicity of roles, including teacher, motivational speaker, and now, author.

Ms. Spruill pointedly recalls her beginnings as a member of the Young Saints singing group as a teenager in Los Angeles. From that point, she reflects on her exciting beginning days as a top session singer and percussionist for the likes of Michael Jackson, Elton John, Billy Idol, Aretha Franklin, Glen Campbell, Olivia Newton-John, Talking Heads, on up to her five-year tenure with world Latin music icon, Julio Iglesias.

Her book is written to inspire, instruct, and motivate. It also confirms that you can take what you have and literally turn your golden nuggets into extremely valuable gold bars.

Stephanie, finally, encourages the reader to plant a seed of faith into the soil of their God-given abilities and talents, inevitably realizing their dreams and reaching their greatest potential.

By Jerry Peters

Introduction

he reason for writing 17 Points to Longevity in Show Business: Staying Focused on Your Vision is to share my experiences, anecdotes, and the life lessons I’ve learned from this exciting and ever-changing industry we call Show Business. I have lived it! By living, breathing, and loving this lifestyle, I have come to understand that it is important to have a balanced life. And we need a blueprint to follow in order to put ourselves in a position to achieve success. May these 17 Points to Longevity accompany you and enhance your journey towards success.

This book is an easy read, but packed with power. It contains three sections and includes tips on how you can gain the most from what you read. I have also included tips on how you can learn the most from my book. After reading 17 Points to Longevity in Show Business, I encourage you to begin applying what you have learned into your daily life as soon as possible.

Section One: Personal Points encompasses the following: Confidence in yourself, Focus on what you want to achieve, Physical & Emotional well-being, and a solid Vocal training.

Section Two: Career Points includes the importance of Education, Skills, Versatility, Business Savvy, Risk Factors, Self-Marketing, Networking and Industry Contacts, and how they play a major part in adding to your blueprint for success.

Section Three: Financial Points: As your career begins to advance and the fruits of your labor start to produce, there are many facets of the industry that have proven time and time again to be the things that destroy many careers — in particular, financial pitfalls. With Financial Stability, a healthy Environment, and taking Global Awareness and Trends into consideration, you can stay ahead of the game and avoid falling victim to those pitfalls.

Without the proper knowledge, many careers are doomed before they begin, despite the talent one may possess. The reason is that the entertainment industry is not only rigorous, but very competitive. So, if you are passionate about going into this business, you must do your homework. Get the best information you can get. I believe this book will become a great resource for you. But just reading it is not enough. It is imperative to work hard to incorporate and maintain these 17 Points before you can effectively deal with a rigorous career in show business. This will propel you forward with a strong sense of wholeness and well-being, leading you to a stronger mind, body and spirit connection.

If you want to succeed in show business, you must be committed. There is a page within this book—a commitment page—designed for you to make a contract with yourself in order to have a plan of action to achieve your goals.

There is power in words; therefore, you must be aware of what you ask for, because you just might get it, whether positive or negative. It is vital to be cognizant about how you speak to yourself and about your life. With clear thoughts, you can make better decisions about your life and career.

I have asked on many occasions during my seminars, "Are you an I Can, I Will, or an I Must person? Each descriptive