Legendary Losses

​This week, the music world lost an iconic genius – the great soul-man, D’Angelo. Born Michael Archer, the world would come to know him as simply “D’Angelo.” With only three studio albums over a 30-year-career, he transformed genres and encouraged creativity with his unique style. D’Angelo quietly and quickly succumbed to pancreatic cancer – only his closest relatives were aware of the battle he was fighting.

D’Angelo may or may not be someone with whom you are familiar. His songs never fit the mold for any specific “genre”. He was his own genre, much like Marvin Gaye became once he was able to produce his own albums. If you’re familiar with Marvin Gaye, you know the clear distinction between his early Motown years and the later albums like “What’s Going On” and “Here, My Dear”.

D’Angelo’s first studio album, Brown Sugar was released in 1995 and both the title track as well as the song, “Lady” were top 10 hits. It would be a full five years later until he released the seminal masterpiece Voodoo. This record propelled D’Angelo to super-stardom – and was somewhat overshadowed by the provocative music video for the song “How Does It Feel?”.

Uncomfortable with fame and sex appeal that came with stardom, this son of a preacher was tormented by internal demons. He suffered for years fighting writer’s block. He also battled through addiction during this period and became reclusive. The fame was overwhelming the artist.

After the death of a close friend, D’Angelo sought help and through rehab and hard work, got his life back together. Over the years, fans would speculate, and other artists would as well, all asking the same thing: “When is D’Angelo going to put out another record?!”

Fans would have to wait until 2014 – a full 14-years after Voodoo was released, to hear new sounds from D’Angelo.

The 2014 album The Black Messiah would go on to be a masterpiece of its own – and would be his final studio album. This record seemed to be an outlet through which he was able to express the importance of faith in his life as well as a way to speak out against injustice in the world.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of D’Angelo. His music helped me through difficult times in my life. His death came as a shock to me and all his fans.

While D’Angelo is no longer with us in this life, his legacy lives on – and his story is one of hard work and perseverance. He beat back his inner demons and reclaimed his life. He left a legacy to the world.

As life and annuity producers, you undoubtedly have had to overcome obstacles to get to where you are now. You have also undoubtedly helped countless clients leave a legacy through the miracle of paper and ink – the financial “magic” that is life insurance.

If you have read this far, I encourage you to take note of the importance and opportunity that each day brings. Your hard work changes lives – just like D’Angelo changed mine.

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​Until Next Time – Good Selling! 

​Joseph R. Ohlson LUTCF
President
1-877-844-0900
[email protected]