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important to me. He captured me,” said Warwick.
of their lives, and I took on the role of the godmother. He managed to do it and got both through college. They are both doing exceptionally well, and I can be proud of them as if they were my own,” said Warwick. Both Hughes and Warwick match Wooley’s commitment to HBCUs. Warwick sang in concerts at Howard University when Donny Hathaway was a student there. She performed at Marshall College for their homecoming. At Bowie State University, Warwick is active with their health department because of her activism around AIDS. They are renaming the performing arts center in her name. Hughes’ roots with Howard University spans 50 years starting from WHUR and Melvin Lindsey and “The Quiet Storm,” to the naming of the Communications Department - The Cathy Hughes School of Communications.
Wooley recently married Debora Wooley, who says she admires his creative process.
Some of the exclusive celebrity interviews that Wooley garnered were Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Carlos Santana, Snoop Dogg and Elton John. “It was like a big surprise party for her,” remembers Wooley when Warwick watched the documentary for the first time. Both Dionne Warwick and Cathy Hughes consider Wooley family now, and they are known as Auntie Dionne ‘D’ and Auntie Cathy to Wooley’s daughters. “One side of him is this consummate business entrepreneur,” said Hughes. The other side of him is rearing children. I’m watching him live this double life.”
“With all of the things he’s done, he’s one of the most humble people I’ve ever met,” said Debora Wooley. “He doesn’t have a problem being the behind-the- scenes guy.” Still behind-the-scenes today, Wooley has come full circle. The street where he promoted his first gig on 16th and North Claymont Street in Wilmington, Delaware, with Norman Connors for just $8 advance tickets was recently named after him - David F. Wooley Way in February in 2022. “If it wasn’t for Norman Connors, I wouldn’t be here,” said Wooley. “And I wouldn’t be here without the Delaware States and Coppin State and Lincoln and all the other Black colleges because that’s where my career took off.”
“I met his daughters at the early stages
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