Charley Pride- First Famous Black Country Singer

Charley was born March 18, 1938. Charley taught himself how to play the guitar when he was 14. He wanted to be a baseball player, but he proved to be a better musician than athlete. (Neither of which I am. L Sigh!) After a trip to Nashville in 1965 and two demos he was offered a contract. His first single “The Snakes Crawl at Night” was an instant hit. (Way to go Charley!) On tour in Detroit the story is this; When Charley stepped on stage he was greeted with loud applause, which got lower and lower in volume until near silence as most of the audience began to make the realization that he was a black country singer. (This was when prejudice was everywhere, and there had never been a famous black country singer before) But Charley’s music overcame that and after the show he was bombarded with autograph seekers and the rest is history. Charley’s singles became instant hits, and he made a joke before shows about his “permanent tan” that became his trademark. In 1969 his album of his collection of singles shot the singer up to the coveted number one position of country music sales charts. Throughout his career he had 36#1 hits singles, over 35 million albums sold, 31gold and 4 platinum including one quadruple platinum. (That really makes you sit back and say, Wow, He’s unbelievably good!)He suffered from depression throughout his career, and didn’t start taking medicine until he was hospitalized in 1989. He stayed on medicine after that and was able to maintain a remarkable career. On RCA Records, Charley Pride is second in sales only to Elvis Presley. He preformed at the White House for President Clinton and his wife. He was inducted into the roster of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville--a high honor among country music traditionalists. Twenty-five years earlier, Pride had become the first African American singer to appear on the Opry stage. In the year 2000, he became the first African American member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. (That is what I call a role model!)

Axl Rose- (A.K.A.) Lead Singer 4 Guns n Roses

Axl Rose (real name Billy Bailey) was the poster boy for young teens with problems. By the age of 16 he was, as he said “A full fledged juvenile delinquent”. He was banned from his home and was in and out of jail. He changed his name after finding out the man who raised him was actually his step father. (If that’s not a trigger I don’t know what is!) Which is when he adopted the name Axl Rose (Rose was his biological father’s last name). He started the band Guns n Roses with his friend from school in 1985. (You gotta love the 80’s) Within a few years they had made a name for themselves. A few years later he was diagnosed with manic depressive, and eventually bipolar disorder. In an interview with Rolling Stone he said “I’m very sensitive and emotional and things upset me and make me feel like not functioning or dealing with people.” (Yup, that sounds about right) However, it has been said that he might not have Bp; some of his behavior could be explained through the rough life he’s had. There are also several other possible illnesses that could explain some of his symptoms instead of Bp. (There are a lot out there) Either way he has had a very rough childhood, which shows through some of his songs. (At least he got something out of it! Rock On!)

Maurice Bernard- Actor (General Hospital)

Maurice’s story is extremely similar to others who have Bp. He had problems since his adolescence, but had a major breakdown at 22, and was then diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He likes to box to ease his tension. He says “There’s nothing better than boxing!” I personally think there is one thing better than boxing….. Chocolate! (But that could just be me I don’t know.) He says the key to his stability is never missing his medication, which he says he’s been on for 15 years. (I whole heartedly agree) When asked about side effects he said “The only side effect is, if I don’t take it, I have a breakdown,” That is the one side affect every person with a mental illness automatically has, medication or not. He was recently interviewed and put on the cover of Bp magazine. (It really sends a message when a famous actor is not only willing to have his face plastered on a magazine that millions of people are going to see and recognize as him, but to also have his personal biography written for everyone to read and see.)

Carrie Fisher- Actress (Princess Leia)

Carrie Fisher was born in 1956 and is the daughter of two actors. She started show biz from an early age. It wasn’t until her role in Star Wars was she recognized nationally. Star Wars put the Star in her name. (Alright that might have been a little cheesy)But at the same time she was starting to cross over into the “Dark Side” and it wasn’t long until no force could help her. Who said princesses have an easy life? (Especially when your father is Darth Vader!) She was diagnosed as Bipolar, and after struggling with it for years and self medicating through drugs she was able to find some stability on proper medication. Now she is a speaker and advocate on the mental health circuit. That just goes to show you how easy it is to succumb to the dark side of the force, but how much better it is when you return. She says “Sobriety is the key to dealing with bipolar disorder.” (How much more true could that statement be? None) I especially like what she recommended to people with Bp. She said “Generally, if they are properly bipolar, it’s going to be really chaotic. The best way to do it would be to talk to someone who has the same illness. They’re not going to listen to someone who doesn’t have the disorder because you don’t have the same feelings.” That’s some of the best advice someone with Bp can get. I suggest you take it.

Patty Duke

Patty Duke is a famous actress, and author. Patty Duke was recognized as talented when she was 8, and started her movie career soon after. (I guess instead of reading Dr. Seuss she read movie scripts.) She has performed on Broadway, TV Series, and has appeared in 72 TV Movies. (Insert a cartoon mouth drop here :0) She received an Oscar at the age of 16, which made her the youngest person to receive one back then. Later she won two Golden Globes, three Emmys, six Emmy nominations, and a People Choice Award. (I bet her nickname was Emmy at one time) She wrote two best seller books on her struggle with mental illness. The first one was “Call Me Anna” (Which is her real name) her autobiography in which she publicly revealed her illness for the first time. The book was quickly made into a movie. She played a younger version of herself. (Who else could be that authentic?! I mean it was her life you know.)The second book is “A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness”, (Manic Depressive is what they now call bipolar, but that was a while ago) which is a detailed account of her battle with Manic Depressive (Bp). She has a web site to explain to people, who have Bp that they will not lose their creativity, or change who they are if they take medication. She says she’s more creative now because she can organize a thought. (a lot of people think that taking meds for your problems will change who you are, but as someone who has Bp and knows what it’s like to take meds and not take meds, let me tell you right now; They Will NOT change who you are they will just help you be more stable, and healthy. I feel more like myself when I’m on meds, because I’m more stable then when I’m off them.) If you’re on the right medicine you will feel better, think better, and be better. If the medicine you’re on is what works for you then I guarantee you’ll like the person staring back at you in the mirror more. Your personality, your likes, and your dislikes stay the same the only thing that changes are your moods, which becomes more stable. It’s like the difference between choppy waves and calm waves, a dark sky and the sun shining. The waves and sky are the same as they were before just in a different state.

Famous People With BP

As I’ve mentioned before there are many famous people with BP. Some prefer to keep quiet others prefer to advocate. For the next couple of blogs I’m going to write about several famous people with BP that you might know. By doing this I’m hoping anyone who thinks they’re still alone in what they’re going through will realize they are far from alone, and there are many people going through the exact same things as you are, and some probably at the same time as you are.

How Do You View BP?

Sometimes the biggest difference between two people with BP isn’t their symptoms, or what medicine they do or don’t take, but how they view their BP. Do they view it as a curse or as a blessing in disguise? The disguise part of the blessing would obviously be the symptoms and the ridiculous stigma that comes with the territory. Nobody likes being unstable, it’s hard on not only you, but everyone around you too. It’s also frustrating when people label you as different. Although as I’ve mentioned before, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with being different, and truthfully I wouldn’t want to be “normal”. I’ve heard from a very reliable source that “normal” is just another word for extremely boring! With all the negative things that come with BP there are also several positive things. I know most of you are probably thinking, how in the world is BP a blessing?! The blessing would be all the good things that come with the territory. For example, you can relate and have compassion for other people with a mental health issues. Also, most of the time people with BP are gifted in one thing or another. It could be a subject in school, or it could be something you don’t even think about as being a gift. If you get nothing else out of any of my blogs, I’ll be satisfied if you walk away knowing this; There will always be at least one person who thinks you are a uniquely special gift, and is advocating for you and others like you and me. (By the way that was meant as a fact, and not as a mushy statement!)