Jonestown Singer

I think her name was Diane Wilkinson..

From symphony999:
"Her name was Deanna Wilkerson. If you look very closely, she has a large "scar" on her face. Her mother or father, can't remember which, poured hot oil on her face when pissed at her. After that abuse, she was taken in by the Temple in SF. Wonderful voice."

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• peoples
• temple
• jim
• jones
• jonestown
• diane
• wilkinson

[TheDefjams]

thats a groovey song !!!!!!!

[Pllm30]

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.

[ginoforever2011]

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]

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]

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]

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'

[lisakn27]

@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.

[MAGirlable]

@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]

@lisakn27 According to Tim Reiterman (one of the journalists accompanying Ryan) Dwyer remained with the party at Kaituma through the night.

[lisakn27]

@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.