Black Celebrity Men

Remember these photos from Tyler Perry's grand opening of his multi-million dollar tv and film studio in Atlanta this past weekend? Everyone who has seen these two particular pictures has asked the same question: 'What was going on to make Tyler and Oprah cry openly?' Well as a proud Tallahasseean, I am happy to tell you that the tears they shed were tears of joy as the listened to the angelic voices from the The Boys' Choir of Tallahassee. Choir director Dr. Earl Lee Jr. said he thought someone was trying to pull a fast one on him when he received the call saying Tyler wanted the Boys' Choir to sing at his grand opening. And then it took another two weeks before he was convinced that the call was real. Tyler found the choir after doing a bit of online research. Once he went to their official website and listened to their voices, it was a wrap! He footed the bill so that the 70 member choir could travel to Atlanta and have ample time to rehearse for his big historical day.

"The boys will definitely be talking about this experience for a long time. They were greeted and received by a thunderous applause from the special guests in attendance. The talk at the gala was 'What choir is that performing?' They stopped and watched the choir and they were in tears. They were crying. The stars were actually taking pictures of the local stars so it made the boys feel real good that those folks actually were in tears because the Amazing Grace was absolutely gorgeous. He (Tyler) wanted the choir to sound like angels and to look like angels and that's what they did," Lee wrote Sunday in an e-mail to the Tallahassee Democrat.

Amazing Grace happens to be Tyler's favorite song, hence the tears. As for Oprah, well we all know it doesn't take much for her to cry! Bless her heart. Besides, she's not a stranger to the Boys' Choir. The group performed on her talk show back in 2002 as part of her Angel Network. Lee says Tyler told the group that they are now a part of the Tyler Perry family and that "they will go down in history" as the first choir or boys choir to perform at Tyler Perry Studios. They were also the first to see Perry's new studio. Fourteen year old Boys Choir member Forrest Price said, "It was fantastic. We met a lot of people. We met new stars, we saw Tyler Perry. We went to a studio. It was a lot of fun." Jamaal Shareef-Rogan, a 14-year-old choir member, said, "When I saw Oprah in person, I really just wanted to stop singing and say hey to her. But I really couldn't get off focus. It was really exciting." Hell, now I'm over here about to cry. I'm so proud of them! The Boys' Choir sung at my grandmother's funeral about 8 and a half years ago when two of my cousins were members. She LOVED to hear them sing and adored Dr. Lee, so hearing them sing at her funeral was truly bittersweet. Needless to say, there wasn't a dry eye in the church on that cold January morning but on the flip side, there also was a lot of hand clapping and rejoicing as well! After high school, one of my cousins later became a mentor to the new members coming in.

To read the background history of The Boys' Choir of Tallahassee, go to their official website by clicking HERE. I'm just sorry I'm not able to provide you all with any photos of the guys at the event, but here are a few file photos of the choir.

I also found a few more pics from Tyler's grand opening. Below you'll see pictures of actor Palmer Williams Jr. with two of his House of Payne co-stars (L) Bobbi Baker and Denyce 'Made in Korea' Lawton (I'm sorry, but I laugh hard as hell everytime I hear Palmer call her that!); newly married couple Malinda Williams and Derrick D-Nice' Jones; New Edition member Johnny Gill; and House of Payne co-star Larramie Doc Shaw and his mother.

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