“Lisa Brown and the Shy Ones” by David Theodore Richardson III

Lisa Brown and the Shy Ones was a fictional popular African-American R&B
music group quintet, which spawned into the early 1960s-mid 1980s, with over
25 Grammy Awards and 13 American composition Awards for Best new R&B
group, it had featured 18-time Grammy-Award winning R&B solo artist, Emma
Washington, who was the lead singer from 1956-1962, then was replaced by Lisa
Brown, who Emma referred to as the group’s “Rich Scene Stealer”, and Christina
Roberts, the background singer/multi-platinum solo artist left the group in 1970,
to appear as a new upcoming artist on Big Heart. Emma Washington was
discovered by a new member of “The Shy Ones”, Jacqueline Robinson and her
younger brother, Edmond L. Robinson Jr., had established a worldwide record
label Solid Gold Records a year earlier, also in the music group, originally, was
Sadie Brooks and Samantha Wilson.

Background
The group was from East New York, Brooklyn, New York, and Lisa’s mother,
Karen’s husband died in World War II, alongside with Christina’s mother,
Victoria’s husband had died also with him (implying their were childhood
buddies), after realizing that she had only two years to live, Victoria took the two
years and spent almost every day with her daughter, Christina, Victoria had died
of cancer, when Christina turned two years old, so her deathbed wish was that
Karen took care of Christina, and legally adopted her, which actually happened,
then in 1951, 34-year old Karen was pregnant again with her second and final
daughter, Natalie Brown-Dubois, who would later replace Christina, when Natalie
join the group with Jacqueline in 1970, and replacing Lisa was Maria Frances
“Marie” Evans as the new lead singer during that same year.

Ice Cream Records

The Five Girls from New York was offered a chance to have and record their hit
first single, Someday I Will Follow You, which was released in 1961, where she
met the CEO of Ice Cream Records, Jonathan A. Langford Jr., Jonathan had a
crush on Lisa and dated her, but shocked Emma when she was being replaced
by Lisa as the new lead singer, basically, Emma had voiced her beliefs, and left
in Early 1962, being replaced by Sadie Brooks from 1963-1970, the other
background singer, when Samantha left in 1961, and the lead singer was
revamped to Lisa Brown. Emma, after being thrown out of the music group and
was left penniless, moving to Manhattan, New York with a budget apartment,
performed in nightclubs cross-town, then a young College Graduate/Club owner,
Jacqueline Robinson (a future Shy One, and co-operator/manager of “Solid Gold
Records”), discovered her, as the two became close friends for years. Four years
later, at Ice Cream Records, Lisa Brown and her fiancé, Jonathan, got engaged,
married until 1972, when he found out she was suffering from recreational drugs,
and alcohol, which she was addicted to.

Lisa Brown’s Marriage

Lisa Brown was engaged to her record producer, and manager, Jonathan C.
Langford, Jr., on September 29, 1965, in Los Angeles, California, where the
music group, had a concert at the Roxbury Hills Theatre, Lisa accepted and
married him, although she was 18, and he was 25 years old (seven years her
junior), anyway, the two lovebirds got married, and Lisa had notify her mother,
and her childhood friends, and they was married for seven years.

Lisa Brown’s Gone Fortune

Lisa Brown made over $950,000 from selling hit records, and became very
wealthy in March 1966, when broadcasted on the local news, that Lisa Brown
would be very wealthy, but that became a big problem when Jonathan Langford,
her husband, started taking his friends money, and was shot to death in the
recording studio, when days before finalizing the divorce of his estranged wife,
Lisa, knowing that she could not make ends meet, so Jonathan decided to take
her fortune, and almost was killed when Lisa was suffering a bipolar disorder a
year later.

In 1972, Lisa Brown was being divorced and did not know that she was losing
her $950,000 fortune, and Jonathan sold the house, eliminating Lisa from the
house, and including, Lisa had to spend the night in a Brothel, which she did not
know what a Brothel is, and was almost killed by a prostitute, and left around
3:00am. After news of her divorce, and losing fortune, and her home, Lisa had
covered her face and hid her identity, and bought a passport and moved to
London, England, where British presses, started taking snapshots of her in a
London Apartment, back in Los Angeles, a couple of days before the buyers
started to move into the wealthy castle-like house, Jonathan had encountered
some intruders in the recording studio, the men that had broke out of prison, and
when trying to call the police, one of the five prisoners, had beat him with a bat,
and allegedly shot him with a pistol (at the head, heart and stomach), Jonathan
had died two minutes after the shooting, and the prisoners had escaped later
caught about an hour and they were sentenced to 96 years in prison, Jonathan
had died on September 1, 1972, the funeral for Jonathan was held in Central
Park, New York.

Emma’s Big Deal

In 1973, Emma Washington scored a maximum amount $96,776,984 in total
when she had recorded her first new album on a new record label, Solid Gold
Records, recording and releasing her fourth successful album, Rise up to Fame,
which the album was released on September 13, 1973. which wholesale over
406 million copies, making Emma Washington, the first rich women on a new
record label, after the death of Jonathan Langford, the loss of her fortune, and
moving to London, England, Lisa came back for a visit, when she asked Edmond
(Jacqueline’s brother) to be on his new record label, Edmond angrily declined,
stating that Emma Washington landed as the first R&B artist on the record label,
when Emma did not accepted Lisa’s apology, Edmond condemn the door, and
Lisa stayed in a homeless shelter. Emma, on the other hand became rich again,
doing affirmative things with the money, becoming the first African-American
multi-million industrialist, to engage with her two new best friends.

Group Changes
After the boot of Lisa Brown, Sadie Brooks, Christina Roberts, and Emma
Washington, In October 1970, they was undyingly reinstate by the three new
girls: Natalie Brown (real life baby sister of Lisa), had joined the music group
replacing Christina Roberts, Jacqueline Robinson (CEO/operator of Solid Gold
Records), took Emma Washington’s place, and Maria Evans replacing Lisa, as
the new lead singer, also Robert Eisenhower Johnson replaced the late Jonathan
Langford as the new owner of Ice Cream Records, from October 1, 1970 until
May 25, 1981, lasting 11 years as the President/owner/manager of “Ice Cream
Records”, and the group’s name changed to The Shy Ones. Lisa Brown read in
the paper that the first new “Shy Ones” recorded and released their first album
which made over 97 million copies and each of the members won 14 Grammy
Awards for their first new album: Shy Ones Revolution, released in the United
States on November 13, 1970 a month before Maria Evans and Natalie Brown
star in “Victoria and Rhonda” (which Evans won an Academy Award for “Best
Breakout Role in a Musical or Comedy”). Lisa Brown was very saddened that
someone had full the group and her husband (Jonathan)’s shoes.

Passport to England
After all of the horrible scandals involving her husband, and the music group The
Shy Ones, In Early 1971, Lisa Brown had bought a passport to London, England,
where she felt that she would be very comfortable there, so on March 20, 1971,
she left from Los Angeles, California, and into London, England, the first couple
of weeks in Britain was okay, but on April 29, 1971, it became a horrible moment
from Lisa Brown when she spotted a couple of British presses taking snapshots
of her London apartment, although Lisa could not told them to leave, she
contacted the police, and the law enforcement came almost 9 minutes, and
detained the press. Five Months later, on September 23, 1971, Lisa, now do not
have a savings account went to the “London Headquarters Bank” which she
argued with a financier, about giving her some backup money, the financier
decided to give a loan, and all was not said.

Lisa stayed and lived in London, England for four years, at that moment she
decided to move back to the United States in 1975, but the residents of London
said that Lisa was free to move back to London, anytime she liked, she waved
goodbye, and left for the United States.

The Grammy Incident Death

On March 4, 1978, NBC broadcasted the 1978 Grammy Awards, which was held
at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California, with a fictional 8-inch “Lifetime
Achievement Grammy Award” for Lisa Brown, who was also there for the event,
after receiving her “L.A.G.A.” Lisa decided to recite her speech that she had
wrote, but a sniper came, and one of the security guards came and stand right
next to her, and a sniper came up on the roof, fire the pistol, and the security
guard had told Lisa to duck, and she did for the first time, but when she turned
around, and saw the sniper still up on the roof, he shot in her in the heart and
stomach, security guards blocked the sniper and so on, Lisa Brown was taken to
a Los Angeles Community Hospital, and they were running tests, everyone
came, including her sister, Natalie, ex-best friends Emma, and Christina, and
Sadie, and Edmond, Jacqueline and Maria showed up, on March 4, 1978 at
exactly 7:25pm, at the age of 30, Lisa Brown was pronounced dead, heartbroken
Natalie, Emma and Christina, started sobbing and crying, and it became a faithful
day, but she was buried at the same location her husband was built in at
Woodlawn Peace burial ground. “They wanted be together” said one of the family
members, and Lisa Brown had died being very alcoholic-like and wretched. The
1978 Grammy Awards was never aired again in history, and television critic
Katherine Lee James said that the 1978 Grammy Awards, became the most
shocking one on television

Success after the Shy Ones

Although Christina Roberts and Emma Washington are still close childhood
friends, they had different projects to do: Emma Washington still made and
particularly fortune with her hit albums that went triple platinum, in 1970, Edmond
and Jacqueline Robinson decided to create a popular film company, Soulville
Pictures, which Jacqueline had co-owned the company alongside with her little
brother, Edmond, who own “Solid Gold Records”, well Natalie Brown (real-life
sister of Lisa Brown), and Maria Evans decided to star in a film that Jacqueline
had produced, and written entitled “Victoria and Rhonda”, a film about two best
friends who want solve a crime that led to a famous musician’s death, Natalie
and Maria wrote, produced, composed and sung in the film with the hits: “Better
Come Off Easy”, “Where Did I Left It?” and “Money Pants Pts. 1 & 2”, the film
grossed over 93.9 million at the Box Office, and it was released on December 6,
1970, earning 4 wins and 18 nominations, making Maria Evans earning her first
Academy Award in a Breakout role in a Comedy or Musical, and Natalie Brown
having over 37 Academy Award nominations. Sadie Brooks, on the other hand,
was not heard or seen again, presumably gone to Spellman College, and
working in nightclubs of her hometown of Tuskegee, Alabama.

Another film was written, The Small Heart, and Produced by Edmond L.
Robinson Jr., and Jacqueline Robinson and Emma Washington, when Natalie
Brown was taken in-poor-health before filming her second film, which she was
analyzed with Influenza in January 1972, however, Natalie told Edmond and
Jacqueline that she cannot star in the film due to a permanent sickness, so Maria
Evans was cast as “Francesca Penstock” and leading down was Fernando Louis
as “Darryl Lee” her husband, and Jacqueline (former “Shy One”) was cast as
“Louise (Louisiana) Robin”, the film grossed even much more ($99,695,592) at
the Box Office, being released on December 13, 1972.
At the 1973 Academy Awards, Jacqueline Robinson was the second “Shy One”
to win an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actress”, and although she still
did not won an Award, Natalie Brown holds the record for having over 37
Nominations, lasting with 8 American Music Awards, and 7 Grammy Awards.

Ice Cream Records 25th Anniversary Special

Ice Cream Records 25th Anniversary Special, was broadcasted on CBS on
November 18, 1980, the three-hour event had over 19 musical performers from
the record company, including the reunion of “The Shy Ones” with Natalie, Maria,
Christina, Jacqueline and Emma performing past hits over the two decades
(1960s-1970s), and Robert Eisenhower-Johnson hosted the event, before the
television special, Emma and Christina reunited for the first time, saying how
much they missed each other, and the tragic loss of famed Grammy-Award
winning singer/actress, Lisa Brown, after two years since her death, and six
years since Jonathan, they made and revamped a home movie film starring the
two alongside with Lisa, Sadie and Samantha, and Jonathan, which also aired on
the special, the show shock over 96.8 million viewers on the Nielsen Ratings,
and became the 1980 special with almost 290 million viewers watching the
program.

After years of her death, Lisa Brown and husband, Jonathan Langford, were both
fallen victims of recreational drugs, and alcohol, but never made ends meet when
she tried to stop, although, she was fired, and was soon-to-be divorced, but likely
had 1,000 choices to not to want to clean her life up.], and after being released
from her contract in 1969, Lisa had never sing again due to her lateness of
albums and recording sessions, and no other record label wanted to sign Brown
to their company.

Lisa Brown, at the time, stated that her decision was not to sing anymore, and
after Lisa Brown resigns her 10-year existence in the Music business, Brown also
stated she did know that she was a “fallen angel”, and while other members in
music group preceded their education, Brown already known she dropped out of
school for 20 years, and never finished school because her success of music.

The 1980s Shy Ones

The Shy Ones still made hit records in the Early 1980s, when in 1981; Emma
Washington decided to star in a hit film that would make her an unbelievable star
in the film The Gift of Soul where she played a popular Church gospel singer in
the late 1960s-1970s, the film’s budget had over $94,206,425, being the first
African-American musical of 1981.

Although dead three years earlier, Lisa Brown had recorded a R&B-style song
before her scandals, incidents and Passport to London, England, the song was
entitled “My Friend”, and Brown recorded the song in Early 1969, although
Robert Eisenhower Johnson released the single 12 years later, the song ranked
to #25 on the Billboard’s R&B music chart. The song My Friend sold over 95
thousand singles, all over the United States, including, England, India,
Amsterdam, and several places in Iceland, and China, and she released her last
album in 1969, Come Home to Me, which the song “My Friend” was on the
album. Come Home to Me did successfully at the “Billboard’s 35 R&B Hits of
1981”, where it peaked at #1 for 40 weeks, and its length was 5:25, Lisa Brown
composed the album, but was very unhappy when she found out that her $950
million affluence was being commandeer, and almost divorce her husband
because of his joy of taking payola, when Lisa Brown discovered she could not
divorce him because of the Judge’s Strike, they temporarily split three years later,
due to Lisa Brown now becoming a has-been, and Jonathan’s indifferent death at
“Ice Cream Records”.

Come Home to Me was a mixture of R&B, aria-blend and gospel music, and
included some orchestra-mixed, that had over 16 songs: eight of them entered
“Billboard’s 35 R&B Hits” from 1980 until 1985, on January 11, 1980, My Friend
skyrocketed to #25 for 10 weeks, and the other hit singles: How Will We Know?
Peaked at #1, in the United States from October 29, 1981 until November 26,
1981 then Street Smart (No Smarter Than Me), skyrocketed at #3 from February
6, 1982 until April 10, 1983, alongside with Loving You Is What I Need, became
the first successful R&B/orchestra single to crossover to the R&B charts peaking
at #22 for a week on February 20, 1982, then it skyrocketed to #8 from May 1,
1983 until September 30, 1983, then on October 8, 1983 until February 19, 1986,
it ruled at #1, and the other four singles: What We Gone do Now?, Talking Trash,
Do You Need a Girlfriend, and the landmark single, Let Me Know Now, did poorly
on the “Billboard Top 100 Hot Singles”, “Do You Need a Girlfriend” reached #89
for the 1986 Christmas season, then “Talking Trash” implausible peaked at #98
for June 6, 1987 until July 17, 1987, but the single that did very disappointingly
was “What We Gone do Now?” which the “Billboard Top 100 Hot Singles” broke
at #88 as of February 6, 1988 until April 30, 1988.

At the 1988 Grammy Awards, Christina Roberts and Emma Washington reunited
to perform “Talking Trash”, and “What We Gone do Now?”, which the
performance also featured Natalie, Jacqueline, and Maria composing and singing
in the background with unheard of choir members, and the five girls presented
Lisa’s Grammy Award, and three of the five girls were on the edge of moan,
shown a home movie film which is refastened and an old clip where Lisa explains
her chemistry with soon-to-be divorced husband, Jonathan Langford.

Lisa Brown’s Estate

In 1994, 16 Years after the death of Lisa Brown, Victoria, and her daughter,
Natalie talked about collecting Lisa’s estate, Victoria stated in a interview with
Ebony Magazine: “Lisa did not want to lose everything, Lisa may have been
beautiful, sound great, and feel great, but lost everything due to the wrath of her
widowed husband, who I thought was a first-class man, but told me that I will
never have my baby [Lisa] back, because she’s in his territory now. He’s been
dead for 22 years, someone should had made him believe he has no main
concern”, said Victoria Reyes (Brown), as collecting $950,000 fortune, Victoria
learned that the sniper who murdered her daughter, is serving life in prison (or
maybe death of an electric chair). Judge Abraham Kingston awarded Victoria and
Natalie the $950,000 million, after adjusting life without Lisa.

Shy One Enters the World of R&B and Soul

On April 24, 1995, The Shy Ones entered the world of R&B and Soul, with a
reunion with Natalie, Maria, Emma, Christina, Jacqueline, Sadie and Samantha,
after 39 years as “The Shy Ones”, the seven women decided to disband and
released their final album, “Lisa Brown and the Shy Ones Big Hits”, and “The Shy
Ones Anthology which is a 2-disc Special Edition CD, including “Shy Ones Solos”
a bonus CD, added to the Special Edition, the 2-Disc S.E. CD, and a bonus CD,
“Shy Ones unaccompanied” was released on May 19, 1995.

Lisa Brown’s Legacy

Lisa Brown had hold over eighteen Grammy Awards from 1961 until 1978, and
although the shocking unaired and banned 1978 Grammy Awards, seemed very
bad, but the critically R&B single that did poorly on the Billboard R&B charts, Let
Me know now, skyrocketed to #110