Wilkinson was born to a white mother and a black father in Chicago in 1950, and one of them poured a pot of boiling water onto her before she was six months old. She received skin grafts to the left side of her face and body that left her mildly disfigured for the rest of her life. Wilkinson went into in social service custody before her first birthday, and she was adopted soon after by an Indianapolis couple who joined the fledgling Peoples Temple in the mid-50s.
As one former member explains in The Peoples Temple play, “When Deanna sang, people were into it, man. Nobody ever got tired of hearing Deanna Wilkinson sing.” “She was so soulful,” remembers Laura Johnston Kohl. Kohl was a member of the Temple choir from 1970 to 1978, and she sang alongside Wilkinson during the He’s Able recordings sessions. “She’d been through so much, that when she sang, it just broke your heart.”
Any former member will tell you, the genuine songbird of Peoples Temple was Deanna Wilkinson, the soloist on “Because of Him.” Her name comes up a lot in Peoples Temple literature, since she was, from the church’s early days, one of the star musical attractions at Temple services and events.
Together with Shirley Smith, she’s one of the two “dueling divas” on “Walking With You Father,” and she’s the slinky chanteuse on “Hold On Brother” as well.
Diane Wilkerson performed on the Jonestown People's Temple Album. She was the soloist in Because of Him (beautiful song by her), and two other songs. If you loved this clip listen to her on the actual 1973 studio recording it just brings tears to my eyes. She was a beautiful song bird taken so tragically. Check on Youtube: Peoples Temple Choir - He's Able - 09 'Because of Him'
This girl could have been a major singer, a major person in life. A wife, a mother. Now all she remains as is partial memories of what could have been with only a youtube page and small memorial page on the internet with a few pictures.. Life is truely sad and tragic.
this was the very night before they were all assassinated/gunned down. in the front as the camera went across the audience there is the eery camera to eye contact with the CIA agent Richard Dwyer. right at 00:18
@tlthe5th He played a role in this too. he went back to jonestown during JJ's death speech. Jones is heard saying "Get Dwyer out of here". Wtf? He worked at the US embassy in Guyana, so I'm thinking he and JJ were friends or something like that. He allowed this to happen. .turned away,. He knew what was about to happen imo.
@lisakn27 Dwyer went with the Congressman Leo J Ryan, the News crew and some defectors to the plane right when they were gunned down as well. Jones telling them to get Dwyer out of there was interesting however the fact that he knew Dwyer would not be surprising seeing Jones was the representative of an American based group and dealt with the embassy for several other reasons. Interesting was who they thought Jones said at first. "Ujara" who had attacked the Congressman with a knife
@tlthe5th I also thought that maybe JJones became delusional that night after taking drugs. Maybe he was having some sort of delusion and thought Dwyer was there in the pavilion. Seems the people had no idea what he was talking about, even stating "Ujara"..Maybe they thought that is who he meant since they didn't see "dwyer". I find it interesting however that he said "Dwyer" right as the "red brigade" had returned. Maybe Dwyer rode back with the "red brigade"?? We will never know for sure.
@MAGirlable I think he went back to Kaituma later. he did not ride to Kaituma with Tim Reiterman. I have read that he joined them later the next day, and was not with them the entire time. He had time to go back with the shooters to jonestown, leave later and join them at Kaituma. JJ and Dwyer knew each other for some time before this happened. Dwyer worked at the US embassy and pulled a lot of strings for JJ.
There's just a thing I'd like to say her if I could: " Thank you for this pure beauty instant, you looked like an angel. Thank you for me, for us, and all of them, for been able to give so much at so weird and terrible moments. Thank you so much Deanna, you're still alive in our hearts, rest in peace for ever".
No doubt she's the onlyone miracle Jim Johes had been able to engender his entiere poor f***ing life.
I'm pleased and suprised to see how much I'm not the only one to have been touch in my heart by her brightness beauty (feeling on the voice), even if I was just 4 years old when she died.
Life is so strange, don't you think ? Whatever was her life and howlonger it was, she'd never be able to imagine at this moment that the world will now resume it and only keep in eyes's memory exacly this instant of her; and make her famous so many years later for eternity...
@eugeneexaminer I agree wholeheartedly. In the black community today, those who were old enough to bear witness to the events of the People's Temple and thus Jonestown for the most part have this impression of them being completely ignorant and foolish and write the whole situation off to the point where most black people under age 34 only know of Jim Jones the NY rapper.
@eugeneexaminer My bad Eugene. I meant to say that the recordings I heard were made after the emergency situations were declared to be over. I definitely agree too and never took it as a connotation on race because like you said, it wasn't so
@eugeneexaminer, The scary thing is how Christeen Miller is suggesting that they not drink the poison and the crowd turns against her. It's clear that many of the people were willing to kill themselves. You can hear the crowd shouting at Christeen. Most people do what they're told and not question authority.
@MzGladden I agree. She seems... not all there. Maybe it has to do with the fact Jonestown was essentially staging this party to give the Concerned Citizens, journalists and Ryan the impression that all was well.
Beautiful song! It is so hard to picture all of them dead and so into his twisted mentality. I heard he was dementia from the syphilis he had and was passing onto his members both men and women....
Not just the singer, but the musicians, too. Looks like a guy at the keyboard, a guy at the drums and the white guy sax player wearing tinted yellow eyeglasses, someone playing a tambourine. The middle aged women dancing and rocking out to the music. The couple dancing together. The young children.
It's all just too much to take in, really. God bless the memory of each one.
I was always touched by her singing and that was something about her that always attracted me. She was a tragic figure. All her life she had problems but singing always brought her joy. I wonder was she one of the bodies identified? We need to remember the victims and their lives, not forget them, that was part of the problems in most of these members lives, being overlooked and ostracized by society. We need to remember their talents and gifts and not just people who drinked the kool aid.
Thanks for sharing this. I always remember her singing this after seeing the documentary 2 or 3 times. It just seems so ironic how she's able to sing so Beautifully under those conditions and of course the tragedy which is about to happen. I live in a small town in the midwest as a teen when this happen and I always feel if I had the chance to run away I would have been very likely to be drawn to a church of people like the jonestown church,,,
Wow! She had an amazing voice. She was one of many lives that was cut too short all in the name of communism and Jim Jones's own cowardice and fear of being exposed for who he really was. She is now one of the flowers of the jungle. Rest in Peace darling.
Race or religion was not really an issue in people drinking the poison. Most people will do whatever they are told by their authorities if they listen to them long enough.
If it was her dream to become a singer, well her dream came true because obviously many people were touched by her powerful singing even for only a few seconds in this documentary. She will be remembered.
Many blacks were attracted to Peoples Temple because for the first time they felt loved and accepted and that's how they were trapped. Cult leaders use others weaknesses/desires to control them. Blacks have always been hip and slick enough to detect jive but Jim Jones seem so real to them. Its sad that the members didn't have rational people in their lives to tell them to follow their dreams and not put their dreams into this man. How could they when everyone they knew was in the cult.
I wish you could have looked at this on YouTube about a year ago. Someone posted the audio from several meetings and "white nights" at Jonestown and hearing the people speak about social issues back in the states, some of those sisters and brothers were very smart, passionate and conscientious
I listen to the audio of some of the meetings and a lot of the people there spoke articulate. They weren't dumb or ignorant. They really just wanted change in the world and they felt this organization would bring the change they was looking for. I always say it wouldn't have been a People's Temple if the world was fair and just. I wish they could have known that by living and working hard they could have brought the change they was looking for because their dying wasn't going to bring change.
That's right, even on some of the "White Night" recordings where different people would get up and downgrade their family and friends back in the states, I realize what they were under thus, their actions. Rhythm, have you heard the tape of the boys who tried to escape Jonestown?
I have not but would like to hear. A lot of these people had sense and intelligence I wish someone could have told them that living and using their passion and consciousness was the way to change the world. Christine Miller tried to tell everyone that during the sucides/murders. If a few got away than couldnt some others? I would have played dead or something. It seems many wanted to die because they believed in Jones word and some were forced to die like the babies.
Someone posted these tapes months ago. Leaving the compound was not easy to say the least because of the treacherous terrain (only one dirt road leading to Port Kaituma) and the security team or "Red Brigade" as they were called.
In spite of her tragic life. She seem to have a glimmer of hope. She wanted to make her wrongs right by joining People's Temple. People's Temple seemed to have attracted downtrodden, naive, gullible, lost, confused, cast out by society people, there were many drug addicts, prostitutes, and so on who were attracted to Peoples' Temple because it was the first time people ever showed them love and encouragement and that's the way of cults. They attract people who've never been loved to trap them.
It seems she had a tragic, short young life and it shows in her face. She was adopted by white parents. Wonder if her real parents and relatives are living or even know what became of Deanna? Deanna became a prostitute at a young age. Tried to make it in Las Vegas as a singer but got acid thrown on her, probably by some no good man or her trick. Her life story would be worth reading. I would love to research her life and write about it. If only I can find some people who knew her.
You're right she was adopted by Jack and Rhieanna(?) Beam who were some of the highest ranking members of the People's Temple. I did research on the Alternative Considerations of Jonestown site that she became an out of the closet lesbian. I merely state it, not in anyway to diminish the sista.
Wow. Deanna Wilkinson was a true singer. She reminds me of a Billie Holiday. A singer full of emotion, anguish, and sadness. Only a singer who has suffered can sing like that. She should have went to the Apollo, she would have won the talent show and her career would have took off. She should have went to some of the major record labels, got her start as a background singer than move up to making hit records herself. It's sad how we can see these people's potential but they couldn't.
I wonder what Phillip Bailey, Maurice, Verdine and the crew would be thinking if they were able to here the whole NBC video/audio recording Bob Brown did of her singing that night.
It may and I could be totally wrong, be her girlfriend. Based on some research I did, Deanna was an open lesbian at Jonestown, and ther were others and there was full acknowledgement and acceptance.
Where did you do your research on Deanna? I been to the website giving information on the ones who died. I got a chance to see a photo and hear her voice.
There was some information on her on the Alternative Considerations of Jonestown site. There wasn't an article devoted to her per se, but she was mentioned in at least two of the articles I came across
why so hostile to jones thous people wear stupid enough to go to follow that crook its their own dam fault their dead its natural selection i wish their wear more loonies like jones to help kill off other defective loonies.
You are a sick bastard maxx if you think its okay to take advantage of people in the name of religion. Jones deserves all the hate and turmoil if he is in hell. People followed him because they believed in his message. He had no right to make people kill themselves and if they didn't he would force them. He had no right to have that politician killed. Everyone makes mistakes in life but they don't deserve death for it. If you were ever fooled in life should you have died?
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What ever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions? They joined the cult they bought the lie hook line and sinker they moved to another country a turd world country on top of that and finally they kill them self's and their children....
This wasn't just a mistake was it was stupidity in its purest i stand by what i said they got what they deserved....
You have no right to say who should live or die. Your a cold-hearted, unfeeling, idiot. I think your a loony someone should torture for a long time than hang to death.
I know you will never call anyone a nigger to their face because you will get your face shot off. You get scared around blacks but tough on the Internet. Watch your drink, there might be some cyanide for ya. Come with something better than nigger, that word been used so much it don't even hurt because we niggaz, not niggers are running this country, this world. I got the last word you cousin loving hillbilly trailer park trash peckerwood. HA HA, keep replying cause you have no life.
you're a Nazi....the 88 deal...Heil Hitler...H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. Pretty juvenille code. What are you? Eight years old? Do you have a secret decoder ring that you got by sending in fifty cents and a couple of breakfast cereal box tops? Decode this:
I've watching the Jonestown documentary and also admiring this woman's singing. A beautiful voice and a great song. She was a great talent, and it's great we have this record of her. She may just been nervous because of the camera crew; she may not have been used to being filmed. Also, with the congressman there it was a tense atmosphere, and kind of a tense atmosphere to begin with.
I own This documentary and when I first saw that footage of this beautiful woman singing it just brought tears to my eyes of knowing she and those other innocent Grandparents,Fathers,Mothers,Sons,and Daughters wasn't going to make it the next day I wish that I could of been there to save Her and the others.Even though they looked happy but you can tell death was near by,Another sad thing was Christine miller on that tape pleading for her life b4 they were dead..So Sad...Rest In Piss Jim Jones!
I wish I was there to see this because that girl could sing!That was my hey day the 60s and the 70s I used to see alot of professional people and not proffesionals sing and they were all good!
I've been looking for this video...I saw it on CNN during the Jonestown special, and I thought she was just beautiful and had a lovely voice to match, and the way the song was performed sounded great. Look at all the people...so happy. Breaks your heart. These were good people who just...wow, didn't deserve this at all...
I was born in '89, 10 years and 11 months after this horrendous tragedy (for lack of better words)...it brings tears to my eyes...
Yeah, that was pretty immature. I was drunk when I typed that (drunken YouTubing). If there were a way I could remove both those comments, I would. No excuse for it. Sorry.
my god she sounds like an angel! what a bunch of sheep those people turned out to be! i hope people learn from this! kool-aid is in fact "not for drinking!" its really for population control. thanks dad!
She was the adoptive daughter of Jack and Rhievanna?Beam. They were key members of the People's Temple herirarchy especially in Cali. (On the death tape, Jones mentions him "As Jack Beam said, if it only works one day, it was worth it"). Acoording to what I found, Deanna was born in Chicago (1950) and she had probably been in their "custody" for some time.
yeah she slapped her brother. he didnt even leave a memorial tribute to her in the biggest jonestown website alternative considerations. she was kinda out there i suppose.
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this is about diana not maria. i dunno how jones got hooked up with maria anyway. she wasn't pretty and too shy for anything. kept covering her face. geez gimme a break.
mishima1970. I know what you mean. The image of this woman singing stayed with me for a long time. When I saw the documentary and saw her singing, it just seemed like she shouldn't have been there. Not that anyone else should have either. It's still hard for me to believe almost a thousand people would leave this world in the way they did. Horrific
It was actually the passport photos of the victims on that Jonestown site, seeing them in life, smiling, full of hope and desire, men, women and children, old and young, that gave me the strength to look into the matter. Even though tragic, I have dignity for the vast majority of them, that could happen to most of us.
I echo the same jms8888 only I have yet to see those documentaries but I've been to the sights. I saw a show on ESPN about Jim Jones' black son who survived. He and the basketball team were in Georgetown at the time. I then realized that I never came to grips with it since I was little, so I dove into researching it.
Hi. Do you know if the full footage of her singing is available? How did you find out she was abused and that acid or oil was poured on her by her parents? I read she was adopted, was she adopted as an adult or as a teen by People's Temple.
Two figures from the tragedy always stick in my mind whenever I think of Jonestown. One of them is this woman and the other is Maria Katsaris, who was interviewed on camera on the day of the deaths.......
I watched this documentary the other night. I really didn't know much about Jonestown, it happened when I was about 7 years old. After watching this I found this site that shows pictures of all of the people who died and I've been captivated ever since. I checked the name, Diane Wilkinson, against the site and I think you have the right person.
Oh my word, how heartbreaking. I was just 6 when this tragedy happened, and just seeing the pics all over the news scarred me for life. I was deeply frightened of religion and political groups for years afterward.
all i can think about when watching her passionate delivery of this beautiful song is her lying bloated and dead in that jungle. what a horrible shame.
Wilkinson was born to a white mother and a black father in Chicago in 1950, and one of them poured a pot of boiling water onto her before she was six months old. She received skin grafts to the left side of her face and body that left her mildly disfigured for the rest of her life. Wilkinson went into in social service custody before her first birthday, and she was adopted soon after by an Indianapolis couple who joined the fledgling Peoples Temple in the mid-50s.
ginoforever2011 3 weeks ago
As one former member explains in The Peoples Temple play, “When Deanna sang, people were into it, man. Nobody ever got tired of hearing Deanna Wilkinson sing.” “She was so soulful,” remembers Laura Johnston Kohl. Kohl was a member of the Temple choir from 1970 to 1978, and she sang alongside Wilkinson during the He’s Able recordings sessions. “She’d been through so much, that when she sang, it just broke your heart.”
ginoforever2011 3 weeks ago
Any former member will tell you, the genuine songbird of Peoples Temple was Deanna Wilkinson, the soloist on “Because of Him.” Her name comes up a lot in Peoples Temple literature, since she was, from the church’s early days, one of the star musical attractions at Temple services and events.
Together with Shirley Smith, she’s one of the two “dueling divas” on “Walking With You Father,” and she’s the slinky chanteuse on “Hold On Brother” as well.
ginoforever2011 3 weeks ago
Diane Wilkerson performed on the Jonestown People's Temple Album. She was the soloist in Because of Him (beautiful song by her), and two other songs. If you loved this clip listen to her on the actual 1973 studio recording it just brings tears to my eyes. She was a beautiful song bird taken so tragically. Check on Youtube: Peoples Temple Choir - He's Able - 09 'Because of Him'
ginoforever2011 3 weeks ago
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This girl could have been a major singer, a major person in life. A wife, a mother. Now all she remains as is partial memories of what could have been with only a youtube page and small memorial page on the internet with a few pictures.. Life is truely sad and tragic.
ORlGINALMac 2 months ago
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ORlGINALMac 2 months ago
This lady could really sing. If she had taken a different road and had never met JJones, she might have been a famous singer. Her voice is great!
lisakn27 3 months ago
this was the very night before they were all assassinated/gunned down. in the front as the camera went across the audience there is the eery camera to eye contact with the CIA agent Richard Dwyer. right at 00:18
tlthe5th 3 months ago
@tlthe5th He played a role in this too. he went back to jonestown during JJ's death speech. Jones is heard saying "Get Dwyer out of here". Wtf? He worked at the US embassy in Guyana, so I'm thinking he and JJ were friends or something like that. He allowed this to happen. .turned away,. He knew what was about to happen imo.
lisakn27 3 months ago
@lisakn27 Dwyer went with the Congressman Leo J Ryan, the News crew and some defectors to the plane right when they were gunned down as well. Jones telling them to get Dwyer out of there was interesting however the fact that he knew Dwyer would not be surprising seeing Jones was the representative of an American based group and dealt with the embassy for several other reasons. Interesting was who they thought Jones said at first. "Ujara" who had attacked the Congressman with a knife
tlthe5th 3 months ago
@tlthe5th I also thought that maybe JJones became delusional that night after taking drugs. Maybe he was having some sort of delusion and thought Dwyer was there in the pavilion. Seems the people had no idea what he was talking about, even stating "Ujara"..Maybe they thought that is who he meant since they didn't see "dwyer". I find it interesting however that he said "Dwyer" right as the "red brigade" had returned. Maybe Dwyer rode back with the "red brigade"?? We will never know for sure.
lisakn27 3 months ago
@lisakn27 According to Tim Reiterman (one of the journalists accompanying Ryan) Dwyer remained with the party at Kaituma through the night.
MAGirlable 1 month ago
@MAGirlable I think he went back to Kaituma later. he did not ride to Kaituma with Tim Reiterman. I have read that he joined them later the next day, and was not with them the entire time. He had time to go back with the shooters to jonestown, leave later and join them at Kaituma. JJ and Dwyer knew each other for some time before this happened. Dwyer worked at the US embassy and pulled a lot of strings for JJ.
lisakn27 1 month ago
What a waste of a beautiful talent.
RichardWagner1 3 months ago
wow shes good.
ginoforever2011 4 months ago
WOW!!!!...shes amazing, her voice is Beautiful and musicians are great......
ajhernandez13 4 months ago
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DinoSeminario 4 months ago
There's just a thing I'd like to say her if I could: " Thank you for this pure beauty instant, you looked like an angel. Thank you for me, for us, and all of them, for been able to give so much at so weird and terrible moments. Thank you so much Deanna, you're still alive in our hearts, rest in peace for ever".
No doubt she's the onlyone miracle Jim Johes had been able to engender his entiere poor f***ing life.
DinoSeminario 4 months ago
Her name was Deanna Kay Wilkinson.
I'm pleased and suprised to see how much I'm not the only one to have been touch in my heart by her brightness beauty (feeling on the voice), even if I was just 4 years old when she died.
Life is so strange, don't you think ? Whatever was her life and howlonger it was, she'd never be able to imagine at this moment that the world will now resume it and only keep in eyes's memory exacly this instant of her; and make her famous so many years later for eternity...
DinoSeminario 4 months ago
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I was 4 months old when this happened I can help to think about all those little babies who would have been my age today.
mapboy78 5 months ago
@eugeneexaminer OK didn't know that.
ristobenjie 8 months ago
@eugeneexaminer I agree wholeheartedly. In the black community today, those who were old enough to bear witness to the events of the People's Temple and thus Jonestown for the most part have this impression of them being completely ignorant and foolish and write the whole situation off to the point where most black people under age 34 only know of Jim Jones the NY rapper.
ristobenjie 8 months ago
@eugeneexaminer My bad Eugene. I meant to say that the recordings I heard were made after the emergency situations were declared to be over. I definitely agree too and never took it as a connotation on race because like you said, it wasn't so
ristobenjie 8 months ago
@eugeneexaminer, The scary thing is how Christeen Miller is suggesting that they not drink the poison and the crowd turns against her. It's clear that many of the people were willing to kill themselves. You can hear the crowd shouting at Christeen. Most people do what they're told and not question authority.
IBMeddling 8 months ago
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Heed! Let's take notice of [The END] our time_ Mathew24:36-39
There are real understandings and hope profusely in God's Word, the Bible:
The world is managed_ 1John5:19 Revelation12:7-12
Major +/- occurrences_ Mathew24:7,8,10-14,21,22
Predicted changes in People’s behaviors_ 2Timothy 3:1-5
The True God will act soon_ Revelation16:13,14 Daniel2:44
We too must act so to be saved_ Revelation18:4 Zephaniah2:3 John17:3 Mathew6:9-11,33,34 Mark13:13
A New World, at hand Psalm37:9-11 2Peter3:8-13
plptous 8 months ago
This is my most favorite version of "That's The Way Of The World" cover version of Earth Wind & Fire.
Johnnydef 11 months ago
As I watch her singing, she appears stoned or kinda dazed...does anyone else see this?
MzGladden 11 months ago
@MzGladden I agree. She seems... not all there. Maybe it has to do with the fact Jonestown was essentially staging this party to give the Concerned Citizens, journalists and Ryan the impression that all was well.
MAGirlable 1 month ago
Beautiful song! It is so hard to picture all of them dead and so into his twisted mentality. I heard he was dementia from the syphilis he had and was passing onto his members both men and women....
MzGladden 11 months ago
Not just the singer, but the musicians, too. Looks like a guy at the keyboard, a guy at the drums and the white guy sax player wearing tinted yellow eyeglasses, someone playing a tambourine. The middle aged women dancing and rocking out to the music. The couple dancing together. The young children.
It's all just too much to take in, really. God bless the memory of each one.
MrRedFredSaid 1 year ago
I was always touched by her singing and that was something about her that always attracted me. She was a tragic figure. All her life she had problems but singing always brought her joy. I wonder was she one of the bodies identified? We need to remember the victims and their lives, not forget them, that was part of the problems in most of these members lives, being overlooked and ostracized by society. We need to remember their talents and gifts and not just people who drinked the kool aid.
MusicandDancing4Ever 1 year ago 2
@MusicandDancing4Ever sounds like u were there...did u know her? omg
MzGladden 11 months ago
What a waste. Such a beautiful person and singer. Terrible.
Trund27 1 year ago
Her name was Deanna/Diane Wilkerson. She was a singer/mechanic. She was gay, and was adopted as a teenager by a white family in Peoples Temple.
Pllm30 1 year ago 4
Anybody know her name?
Greatersend 1 year ago
Thanks for sharing this. I always remember her singing this after seeing the documentary 2 or 3 times. It just seems so ironic how she's able to sing so Beautifully under those conditions and of course the tragedy which is about to happen. I live in a small town in the midwest as a teen when this happen and I always feel if I had the chance to run away I would have been very likely to be drawn to a church of people like the jonestown church,,,
danadre0101 1 year ago 2
@danadre0101 I am glad such a thoughtful person like you did not run away. Very good comments
Trund27 1 year ago
thats a groovey song !!!!!!!
TheDefjams 1 year ago 9
she may be on the cd "He's able"
TEMPmichaelhansen 1 year ago
She was a lesbian.
alleyoop999 1 year ago
@alleyoop999 So?
Trund27 1 year ago
Rest in peace, hope i see you singing in paradise.
jennisa99 2 years ago 3
@jennisa99 Beautifully said. At least we have this fragment from her life so we can remember her when she was joyful for at least a moment
Trund27 1 year ago
Wow! She had an amazing voice. She was one of many lives that was cut too short all in the name of communism and Jim Jones's own cowardice and fear of being exposed for who he really was. She is now one of the flowers of the jungle. Rest in Peace darling.
Bellinzona1000 2 years ago 2
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Bellinzona1000 2 years ago
Is very sad as they where really innocent and hardworking people.Its jim jones who is the disturbed one.
RockandRoller918 2 years ago 3
Hard to imagine that, within 24 hours, all those people in that footage would be...gone:-( Just like Jackie Spier said.....
ckendall67 2 years ago
Race or religion was not really an issue in people drinking the poison. Most people will do whatever they are told by their authorities if they listen to them long enough.
IBMeddling 2 years ago
Jonestown's a sad tragedy!
blacksultan85 2 years ago
If it was her dream to become a singer, well her dream came true because obviously many people were touched by her powerful singing even for only a few seconds in this documentary. She will be remembered.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
Many blacks were attracted to Peoples Temple because for the first time they felt loved and accepted and that's how they were trapped. Cult leaders use others weaknesses/desires to control them. Blacks have always been hip and slick enough to detect jive but Jim Jones seem so real to them. Its sad that the members didn't have rational people in their lives to tell them to follow their dreams and not put their dreams into this man. How could they when everyone they knew was in the cult.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
I wish you could have looked at this on YouTube about a year ago. Someone posted the audio from several meetings and "white nights" at Jonestown and hearing the people speak about social issues back in the states, some of those sisters and brothers were very smart, passionate and conscientious
ristobenjie 2 years ago
I listen to the audio of some of the meetings and a lot of the people there spoke articulate. They weren't dumb or ignorant. They really just wanted change in the world and they felt this organization would bring the change they was looking for. I always say it wouldn't have been a People's Temple if the world was fair and just. I wish they could have known that by living and working hard they could have brought the change they was looking for because their dying wasn't going to bring change.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
That's right, even on some of the "White Night" recordings where different people would get up and downgrade their family and friends back in the states, I realize what they were under thus, their actions. Rhythm, have you heard the tape of the boys who tried to escape Jonestown?
ristobenjie 2 years ago
I have not but would like to hear. A lot of these people had sense and intelligence I wish someone could have told them that living and using their passion and consciousness was the way to change the world. Christine Miller tried to tell everyone that during the sucides/murders. If a few got away than couldnt some others? I would have played dead or something. It seems many wanted to die because they believed in Jones word and some were forced to die like the babies.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
Someone posted these tapes months ago. Leaving the compound was not easy to say the least because of the treacherous terrain (only one dirt road leading to Port Kaituma) and the security team or "Red Brigade" as they were called.
ristobenjie 2 years ago
In spite of her tragic life. She seem to have a glimmer of hope. She wanted to make her wrongs right by joining People's Temple. People's Temple seemed to have attracted downtrodden, naive, gullible, lost, confused, cast out by society people, there were many drug addicts, prostitutes, and so on who were attracted to Peoples' Temple because it was the first time people ever showed them love and encouragement and that's the way of cults. They attract people who've never been loved to trap them.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
It seems she had a tragic, short young life and it shows in her face. She was adopted by white parents. Wonder if her real parents and relatives are living or even know what became of Deanna? Deanna became a prostitute at a young age. Tried to make it in Las Vegas as a singer but got acid thrown on her, probably by some no good man or her trick. Her life story would be worth reading. I would love to research her life and write about it. If only I can find some people who knew her.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
You're right she was adopted by Jack and Rhieanna(?) Beam who were some of the highest ranking members of the People's Temple. I did research on the Alternative Considerations of Jonestown site that she became an out of the closet lesbian. I merely state it, not in anyway to diminish the sista.
ristobenjie 2 years ago
Wow. Deanna Wilkinson was a true singer. She reminds me of a Billie Holiday. A singer full of emotion, anguish, and sadness. Only a singer who has suffered can sing like that. She should have went to the Apollo, she would have won the talent show and her career would have took off. She should have went to some of the major record labels, got her start as a background singer than move up to making hit records herself. It's sad how we can see these people's potential but they couldn't.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
I wonder what Phillip Bailey, Maurice, Verdine and the crew would be thinking if they were able to here the whole NBC video/audio recording Bob Brown did of her singing that night.
ristobenjie 2 years ago
wow this woman can sang rest in peace
imhappywithmyself 2 years ago
i love her voice.
blacksultan85 2 years ago
So who the hell was the lady on the stage in the white jumper..what was her purpose for being up there? The clapper?
WebbanationX 3 years ago
I think she was a backup singer for one of the other songs they p[layed, but would look wierd if she walked off right.
Lukania 2 years ago
It may and I could be totally wrong, be her girlfriend. Based on some research I did, Deanna was an open lesbian at Jonestown, and ther were others and there was full acknowledgement and acceptance.
ristobenjie 2 years ago
Where did you do your research on Deanna? I been to the website giving information on the ones who died. I got a chance to see a photo and hear her voice.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
There was some information on her on the Alternative Considerations of Jonestown site. There wasn't an article devoted to her per se, but she was mentioned in at least two of the articles I came across
ristobenjie 2 years ago
If Jones was sitting here next to me right now, I would blow his arms and legs off with a shotgun and strangle him to death.
Hope they have a bunch of kool-aid and cyanide for you in hell, Jones!
zeppelin511 3 years ago
why so hostile to jones thous people wear stupid enough to go to follow that crook its their own dam fault their dead its natural selection i wish their wear more loonies like jones to help kill off other defective loonies.
drink the kool aid dumb ass (;
maxx88 2 years ago
You are a sick bastard maxx if you think its okay to take advantage of people in the name of religion. Jones deserves all the hate and turmoil if he is in hell. People followed him because they believed in his message. He had no right to make people kill themselves and if they didn't he would force them. He had no right to have that politician killed. Everyone makes mistakes in life but they don't deserve death for it. If you were ever fooled in life should you have died?
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
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What ever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions? They joined the cult they bought the lie hook line and sinker they moved to another country a turd world country on top of that and finally they kill them self's and their children....
This wasn't just a mistake was it was stupidity in its purest i stand by what i said they got what they deserved....
oh and Jones is not in hell hes dead
their is no after life.
maxx88 2 years ago
You have no right to say who should live or die. Your a cold-hearted, unfeeling, idiot. I think your a loony someone should torture for a long time than hang to death.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
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cry me a river bitch
maxx88 2 years ago
Comment removed
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
Comment removed
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
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i am shaking in my boots nigger
maxx88 2 years ago
I know you will never call anyone a nigger to their face because you will get your face shot off. You get scared around blacks but tough on the Internet. Watch your drink, there might be some cyanide for ya. Come with something better than nigger, that word been used so much it don't even hurt because we niggaz, not niggers are running this country, this world. I got the last word you cousin loving hillbilly trailer park trash peckerwood. HA HA, keep replying cause you have no life.
dewberrysquish 2 years ago
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oh boy you got me pegged ha ha ha!!!!!
Go smoke some crack you silly coon
maxx88 2 years ago
Comment removed
dewberrysquish 2 years ago
@max88 -
you're a Nazi....the 88 deal...Heil Hitler...H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. Pretty juvenille code. What are you? Eight years old? Do you have a secret decoder ring that you got by sending in fifty cents and a couple of breakfast cereal box tops? Decode this:
12-15-19-5-18 or L-O-S-E-R
TreblePop 2 years ago
gh6
zeppelin511 3 years ago
I've watching the Jonestown documentary and also admiring this woman's singing. A beautiful voice and a great song. She was a great talent, and it's great we have this record of her. She may just been nervous because of the camera crew; she may not have been used to being filmed. Also, with the congressman there it was a tense atmosphere, and kind of a tense atmosphere to begin with.
maharsi 3 years ago
So much talent in that group of people and soon after this was scene was shot most died. Such a waste.
Seagrove1976 3 years ago
I own This documentary and when I first saw that footage of this beautiful woman singing it just brought tears to my eyes of knowing she and those other innocent Grandparents,Fathers,Mothers,Sons,and Daughters wasn't going to make it the next day I wish that I could of been there to save Her and the others.Even though they looked happy but you can tell death was near by,Another sad thing was Christine miller on that tape pleading for her life b4 they were dead..So Sad...Rest In Piss Jim Jones!
33kevwalton602 3 years ago 5
I wish I was there to see this because that girl could sing!That was my hey day the 60s and the 70s I used to see alot of professional people and not proffesionals sing and they were all good!
darkebony 3 years ago
I don't think she looks paranoid, I think she was just truly into the song she was singing...
bubblebath88 3 years ago
you know what...thinking about it...paranoia could have been apart as well...
bubblebath88 3 years ago
I've been looking for this video...I saw it on CNN during the Jonestown special, and I thought she was just beautiful and had a lovely voice to match, and the way the song was performed sounded great. Look at all the people...so happy. Breaks your heart. These were good people who just...wow, didn't deserve this at all...
I was born in '89, 10 years and 11 months after this horrendous tragedy (for lack of better words)...it brings tears to my eyes...
bubblebath88 3 years ago
This singer sounds so beautiful but looks so paranoid. You can see it in her eyes. What a horrible tragedy.
martiesirois 3 years ago
The singer was absolutely NOT smiling. I'm sure some people sensed that something was wrong.
redenchilada 3 years ago 2
People died here. Please show respect. It is disturbing to see people making such vulgar comments.
shawnmcq 3 years ago 5
the way of the world Earth Wind and Fire
dilwad 3 years ago 2
Thanks dilwad, I was wondering also what song that was. I thought it sound familiar. I like her singing.
IBMeddling 3 years ago
what song is that, shes a good singer n looks a little pretty...
jonlee29 3 years ago 3
awesome version of this song! crazy to think all these happy looking people died the next day =(
spin9702 3 years ago 10
What happened to her singing career?
adamcharney 4 years ago
Unfortunately, it ended along with her life not even 24 hours after she was filmed.
ristobenjie 4 years ago
Yeah, it gets harder and harder to land a good record contract these days.
adamcharney 4 years ago
that is most immature thing you can say! you are funny as hell! pee pee doo doo!
jasonofsepsis 3 years ago
Yeah, that was pretty immature. I was drunk when I typed that (drunken YouTubing). If there were a way I could remove both those comments, I would. No excuse for it. Sorry.
adamcharney 3 years ago 2
you are cooler when you are drunk!
jasonofsepsis 3 years ago
this idiot doesnt no what jonestown is rofl
dankpurple 3 years ago
I know what Jonestown was. I was just being an insensitive asshole.
adamcharney 3 years ago
spellcheck bro! doesn't take long.
jasonofsepsis 3 years ago
this was sad, this story really change my way of thinking, it opened my eyes. It is sad how they looked so happy and then died cruelly.
Also, this song performed by diane is way better then the original played by EWF,, just my opinion.
Rest in peace.
ultimateone1 4 years ago 6
my god she sounds like an angel! what a bunch of sheep those people turned out to be! i hope people learn from this! kool-aid is in fact "not for drinking!" its really for population control. thanks dad!
jasonofsepsis 4 years ago
Does anyone know the name/s of the couple dancing?
77sunsetliveson 4 years ago 2
yup
1cityboy666 4 years ago 2
I'll check it out.
ristobenjie 4 years ago
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WAS THAT " GUYANA IDOL " ?? LOL JK..
KATSLAPPER1 4 years ago
She was the adoptive daughter of Jack and Rhievanna?Beam. They were key members of the People's Temple herirarchy especially in Cali. (On the death tape, Jones mentions him "As Jack Beam said, if it only works one day, it was worth it"). Acoording to what I found, Deanna was born in Chicago (1950) and she had probably been in their "custody" for some time.
ristobenjie 4 years ago
You can hear her speak in one of the videos I uploaded. Jonestown White Night (October 1978) Q245
jms8888 4 years ago
:49 you can see Maria Katsaris sitting next to her brother holding her hand in front of her face so the camera can't film her.
jms8888 4 years ago
It's actually at :16..my fault :(
jms8888 4 years ago
She's the one who slapped him on camera when he wanted to leave isn't she ?
RastusFuckhai 4 years ago
yeah she slapped her brother. he didnt even leave a memorial tribute to her in the biggest jonestown website alternative considerations. she was kinda out there i suppose.
Pllm30 4 years ago
@Pllm30 What is her last name?
Greatersend 1 year ago
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this is about diana not maria. i dunno how jones got hooked up with maria anyway. she wasn't pretty and too shy for anything. kept covering her face. geez gimme a break.
Pllm30 4 years ago
Jones wasn't "hooked up" with Maria.
symphony999 4 years ago 3
Deanna truely had a beautiful voice....
Senseless waste.........
joeyjosef 4 years ago 3
mishima1970. I know what you mean. The image of this woman singing stayed with me for a long time. When I saw the documentary and saw her singing, it just seemed like she shouldn't have been there. Not that anyone else should have either. It's still hard for me to believe almost a thousand people would leave this world in the way they did. Horrific
tonysparxxx 4 years ago 5
It was actually the passport photos of the victims on that Jonestown site, seeing them in life, smiling, full of hope and desire, men, women and children, old and young, that gave me the strength to look into the matter. Even though tragic, I have dignity for the vast majority of them, that could happen to most of us.
ristobenjie 4 years ago 2
I echo the same jms8888 only I have yet to see those documentaries but I've been to the sights. I saw a show on ESPN about Jim Jones' black son who survived. He and the basketball team were in Georgetown at the time. I then realized that I never came to grips with it since I was little, so I dove into researching it.
ristobenjie 4 years ago
She went by Deanna Moton and Deanna Wilkinson and she was 28 when she died.
AutopsyReport22 4 years ago 2
What's the name of the song she's singing?
boswell2k1 4 years ago
Earth, Wind & Fire - That's The Way Of The World
RonsonDenmark 4 years ago
Hi. Do you know if the full footage of her singing is available? How did you find out she was abused and that acid or oil was poured on her by her parents? I read she was adopted, was she adopted as an adult or as a teen by People's Temple.
rhythmbluessoul 2 years ago
I don't have any more footage
Maybe you should contact symphony999 for more info
RonsonDenmark 2 years ago
Two figures from the tragedy always stick in my mind whenever I think of Jonestown. One of them is this woman and the other is Maria Katsaris, who was interviewed on camera on the day of the deaths.......
mishima1970 4 years ago
Anyone know what her name was? What a tragedy.
jms8888 4 years ago 2
look at my video description
and I think she also used another name
RonsonDenmark 4 years ago
How did you figure that out?
jms8888 4 years ago
researched a bit on imdb and the "official" jonestown-page (don't remember its name)
RonsonDenmark 4 years ago
I watched this documentary the other night. I really didn't know much about Jonestown, it happened when I was about 7 years old. After watching this I found this site that shows pictures of all of the people who died and I've been captivated ever since. I checked the name, Diane Wilkinson, against the site and I think you have the right person.
jms8888 4 years ago 2
Oh my word, how heartbreaking. I was just 6 when this tragedy happened, and just seeing the pics all over the news scarred me for life. I was deeply frightened of religion and political groups for years afterward.
Trula 4 years ago
all i can think about when watching her passionate delivery of this beautiful song is her lying bloated and dead in that jungle. what a horrible shame.
sherribailey75 4 years ago