Last week, I took a trip out to the historic Eastern Market. My goal was unclear at the time, but I decided that only good things could come from surrounding myself with delicious food. After about two hours of roaming around by myself, strolling from food stand to food stand, my nasal cavities were suddenly bombarded with the sweet aroma of a multiple-front attack. I was hit head-on by sizzling sweet barbecue and flanked by chicken breasts, beef ribs and polish sausage blackening over the intensity of burning hot coals. I looked at the sign above the establishment directly behind the grill, and it read, "Bert's Marketplace." Needles to say, I got in line and ordered a bucket of rib tips to see what I had so clearly been missing out on. The taste was more than I could handle. A vice grip on my soul. I immediately needed to find out who was responsible for such a culinary masterpiece.
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Last night I had the unbelievable honor of learning about the life of Mr. Miller London. Mr. London runs a company known as Russell St. Entertainment, a music production and promotion company. Even though music is what inspires Mr. London, his life is devoted to a much greater cause than Jazz, Funk or Blues. Mr. London is a true pillar of our community. He might not be written about in Crain's or The Free Press or even Hour Magazine for that matter. Nonetheless, his story inspires such an incredibly positive dialogue about the future of our great city, its rich history and the paramount importance of changing the national perception of Detroit.
Bert's soul food sign and some succulent sweet barbecue rib tips
I went up to the man leading the charge behind the grill. I asked him, "Are you Bert?" He was not. But he was happy to make an introduction. I told Bert about my blog, and he introduced me to his publicist, Mr. Miller London. Mr. London agreed to meet me on the following Thursday to talk about Bert's business and the programs the two of them were putting together to help make Detroit a better place. I am not sure if Mr. London was as excited as I was right then, but by the end of our conversation Thursday night, we both had gained an enhanced appreciation for taking risks and meeting new people...--
Last night I had the unbelievable honor of learning about the life of Mr. Miller London. Mr. London runs a company known as Russell St. Entertainment, a music production and promotion company. Even though music is what inspires Mr. London, his life is devoted to a much greater cause than Jazz, Funk or Blues. Mr. London is a true pillar of our community. He might not be written about in Crain's or The Free Press or even Hour Magazine for that matter. Nonetheless, his story inspires such an incredibly positive dialogue about the future of our great city, its rich history and the paramount importance of changing the national perception of Detroit.
In the late 1960s, Mr. London took a job with a growing
company based in Detroit called Motown Records. You may have heard of it.
Mr. London worked in marketing and promotion which would allow him to develop his passion for music into a lucrative, Detroit-based career. A well respected man in the industry, Mr. London’s work took him to Los Angeles, California when Motown moved their headquarters westward. There, Mr. London was directly responsible for the promotion of such groups as the Jackson Five. You might have heard of them.
Mr. London told me stories about the Funk Brothers, the band that helped develop the Motown sound and recorded so many of our favorite songs. A group of musicians so uniquely talented and wonderfully diverse that if the pianist could not make it to a recording session, one of the other members of the band could jump on the keys and pick up right where he left off. Mr. London helped build and preserve Motown Records and their patented, quintessentially-Detroit sound that played on radios, televisions and turntables all over the world. Even when he was living in California hosting music conventions, promoting bands and speaking to the youth groups of Los Angeles, Mr. London had Detroit on the forefront of his mind, returning twice a month to his family and friends in a city struggling to re-identify itself.
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| Not my picture. Sorry for borrowing. |
Mr. London worked in marketing and promotion which would allow him to develop his passion for music into a lucrative, Detroit-based career. A well respected man in the industry, Mr. London’s work took him to Los Angeles, California when Motown moved their headquarters westward. There, Mr. London was directly responsible for the promotion of such groups as the Jackson Five. You might have heard of them.
Mr. London told me stories about the Funk Brothers, the band that helped develop the Motown sound and recorded so many of our favorite songs. A group of musicians so uniquely talented and wonderfully diverse that if the pianist could not make it to a recording session, one of the other members of the band could jump on the keys and pick up right where he left off. Mr. London helped build and preserve Motown Records and their patented, quintessentially-Detroit sound that played on radios, televisions and turntables all over the world. Even when he was living in California hosting music conventions, promoting bands and speaking to the youth groups of Los Angeles, Mr. London had Detroit on the forefront of his mind, returning twice a month to his family and friends in a city struggling to re-identify itself.
Mr. London left Detroit but he never forgot about his
roots. When the music industry rapidly
changed in the 1990s, Mr. London saw something evolving that he did not want to
be a part of any longer. So he did what
came naturally to him. He sold his house
in Los Angeles and went home. An
absolutely natural decision for one to make. It was time to go home.
People asked him, “Are you going to move to Southfield?” But that seemed foreign, the idea of leaving Los Angeles and almost going home. Instead Mr. London returned to the home he owns in Detroit. Sure, it took time for him to re-learn the city that he left behind twenty years ago. But the neighborhood was still there. Sure, there are some abandoned homes on the block. But all the grass gets cut. Fine, there are not four-million people living in the city of Detroit any more. But the ones that are left have something in common, they stuck around and they want to believe in a brighter future.
“Detroit will be back. And it is not going to take ten or fifteen years,” Mr. London opined, his attitude nothing short of infectious. “You see in the 1920s, Detroit was the center of the country because of the river. All of the factories were built along-side it so that everything they produced could be shipped out to other parts of the country. Then it changed. The auto industry created a melting-pot in Detroit. Everyone was working side-by-side. Then Detroit changed again. Now it is about time for another change.”
People asked him, “Are you going to move to Southfield?” But that seemed foreign, the idea of leaving Los Angeles and almost going home. Instead Mr. London returned to the home he owns in Detroit. Sure, it took time for him to re-learn the city that he left behind twenty years ago. But the neighborhood was still there. Sure, there are some abandoned homes on the block. But all the grass gets cut. Fine, there are not four-million people living in the city of Detroit any more. But the ones that are left have something in common, they stuck around and they want to believe in a brighter future.
“Detroit will be back. And it is not going to take ten or fifteen years,” Mr. London opined, his attitude nothing short of infectious. “You see in the 1920s, Detroit was the center of the country because of the river. All of the factories were built along-side it so that everything they produced could be shipped out to other parts of the country. Then it changed. The auto industry created a melting-pot in Detroit. Everyone was working side-by-side. Then Detroit changed again. Now it is about time for another change.”
Today, Mr. London spends his time devoted to rebuilding the
community that he grew up in, the one that invented the Motown sound and
changed a generation. He gives his time
and energy to raise funds and promote various charitable organizations that
develop after school programs for kids, substance abuse counseling and other support
systems for the people of his city. But
accolades and recognition; Mr. London desires none of those things. “I don’t
speak highly of myself very well,” explained Mr. London. The only thing that he hopes for is a return
to prominence for the once-greatest city in the country. You see, Mr. London is a living, breathing emblem of the city of Detroit. A hero for community members and
passers-through alike. The city of
Detroit is not going to change overnight.
The one certainty is that it is going to take the efforts of hundreds to
make it happen. Whether those people are
in the news everyday for buying buildings and bringing business to Detroit or
they are the silent types, the community organizers like Mr. London and his
colleagues, they are the people that Detroit needs. Even though Mr. London and
his family and friends have no aspirations for making the front page, one thing
is for sure: you will hear about them.
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