The former President of the United States originally agreed to star in a music video by Precious Metal but his appearance was scrapped as he demanded a higher fee.
- Nov 29, 2023
AceShowbiz - Donald Trump was due to star in the "Mr. Big Stuff" video but a row over pay meant it never happened. The former United States President agreed to play the egotistical womaniser who is the subject of the song in the promo that accompanied the 1990 cover version of the 1971 Jean Knight track by the American all-female band Precious Metal.
The group's management secured Trump for the video for a $10,000 appearance fee, but after shooting his scenes the businessman announced that he wanted to be paid $250,000 so the planned promo was scrapped, according to an obituary written in The Times newspaper for Jean - who passed away at the age of 80 earlier this month.
Jean died from natural causes last Wednesday, November 22, and her passing was confirmed by her long-time friend Bernie Cyrus. The former Louisiana Music Commission director said, "She was the first person we appointed on the board when we took it over and we had a long relationship with her and she was just fabulous."
"She was always willing to get involved with good causes and help out. 'Mr. Big Stuff' - it was just so universal. People remember it. And look, so many people covered it. But nobody did it like Jean."
Jean recorded "Mr. Big Stuff" when she was a churchgoing New Orleans housewife who worked in the cafeteria of a Dominican all-girls college. She regularly performed in the clubs of New Orleans in the mid-60s and had recorded a few unsuccessful singles before being approached by local composer Ralph Williams to put her vocals on his demos.
"Mr. Big Stuff" was among those demos but seemed destined to not be released after several record companies turned it down only for it to find attention after King Floyd's "Groove Me" became a hit.
"Groove Me" had been produced by Wardell Quezergue who was also in the control room for Jean's "Mr. Big Stuff" when Stax asked if there was more work by Quezergue and the backing musicians. Released in 1971, "Mr. Big Stuff" reached the number spot in the American charts and was only stopped from getting to number one by "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees.
Jean admitted that ongoing popularity of "Mr. Big Stuff" over the subsequent decades meant that she kept earning royalties from it until her passing. She previously said, "All I have to do is sit at home and wait for the mailman."
Over the years "Mr. Big Stuff" has been sampled and covered by several artists, including Eazy-E on the 1987 single "Boyz-n-the-Hood" and John Legend on the song "Who Do We Think We Are" from his fourth album "Love in the Future".
