sang onstage with The Temptations and
was given an opportunity to join the
group but he declined.
Now retired after 25 years on the
job and has raised his three children to
prosperous adulthoods, plus the security
of a pension and rental income, Celestine
is happy to be pursuing his “first love” –
music – full time.
For the past several months, Real Love
has been singing to capacity houses at
the Pontchartrain Landing Supper Club
in Gentilly in a monthly show titled
“Motown and More.” To keep up with
popular demand they recently added a
second performance and the shows will
continue at least into early next year.
“My background is opera and church,
which is similar to Jackie Wilson’s
gospel background and style,” Celestine
explained. “My natural tenor has the
type of pitch and range that he had. I do
songs like ‘Higher and Higher’ and ‘Baby
Work Out’ but I can also do Chi-Lites,
Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and
the mid-range stuff. With my versatility,
from a vocal standpoint, I can do one and
switch to the other.”
Continuing, Celestine said, “So, I was
being trained to sing opera and I hung
in there till ninth grade. Then ‘I Heard
it Through the Grapevine’ (the original
Marvin Gaye version) came out and I
just had to do it. I did it in a talent show
and it was a lot of fun. I knew this was
the music I had to do.”
And so he did it but, for many years,
it had to be in his spare time. Taking
the job with the Sheraton put him in
charge of security for the hotel and
his responsibilities expanded when he
became the president of the Greater
New Orleans Hotel Security Directors
Association.
“For years I would coordinate details
with all the downtown hotels for the
major events that were coming into
town,” he said. “Mardi Gras, etc.. It was
a lot of work.”
It was during this time, in the mid-
'80s, that The Temptations came to New
Orleans to perform a benefit concert.
“One of the guys in the group (Dennis
Edwards), heard me singing and asked
me to come up on stage with them and
sing a couple of their numbers,” he
fondly recalled.
After Celestine sang two of their hits,
“They loved it,” he said. “They told me,
‘You need to come out to L.A. with us.
You’ve got something going there.’ We
exchanged information but I later called
Dennis and told him ‘I can’t do it. I’m
safe where I am right now. I’m buying a
house, I’ve got kids in school and a good
job with benefits.’ I couldn’t give all that
up.”
Today, as a retiree, Celestine is
“thrilled” to be doing what he loves most.
“My instrument is my voice,” he says
proudly. “It’s given me the opportunity to
meet great people and perform in many
different settings.”
He also loves sharing the spotlight
with the other two singers in his group
and he praises their vocal skills and stage
presence. “They’re great. I love being on
stage with these guys.
“We do the stuff you’re not going to
hear anywhere else in New Orleans,”
Celestine continued. “We’re not doing
the traditional stuff. The selections we
do are songs people can reflect back
upon from on their younger years and
enjoy.”
He also loves interacting with his
audiences. “We don’t put people up on
the stage, we go out there to them,”
he said. “If anyone has a birthday that
month, we get them out on the dance
Real Love:
Nathaniel Brooks, Cornelious C.C. Celestine,
Rene Fleury
floor with us and we sing and have fun.
And then we get everybody else on the
dance floor and everyone’s having a great
time.”
Many of Real Love’s fans come to the
shows with umbrellas, towels, T-shirts,
and caps emblazoned with the group’s
name. In addition to being the group’s
lead singer, Celestine is also their
business manager. “I’m the guy in front
of the band and the guy behind the
scenes,” he proudly declares.
Celestine emphasizes that Real Love
does more than just “pay tribute to the
great singers who came before us.” He
explains that the group has released
several CDs and is working on some
original material that they plan to release
soon.
Summing up an eventful and rewarding
career, Celestine said, “Music is . . . and
always will be . . . my first love. It isn’t
my main source of income but it is my
main passion.”
For more information about Real Love
visit them on their Facebook page or
website: realloveentertainment.com. To
book them for events and performances
call (504) 952-7581 or email them at cc@
realloveentertainment.com.
Real Love will be performing on Friday,
December 8 and again on January 5
for two shows, 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. at
Pontchartrain Landing, 6001 France Road,
New Orleans. Optional buffet dinners or
hors-d'oeuvres are available for both shows.
For reservations call Gwen (504)373 2992.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BIONCA FLOT SYKES
N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 breakthrumediamagazine.com | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | 17