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CNN Live Today

Interview with Ian Burke, Friend of TLC Member Lisa Lopes

Aired April 26, 2002 - 11:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, surviving members of the Grammy- winning group TLC said that they have lost a sister. They are mourning the death of fellow member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was killed in a car crash in Honduras. Well, joining us now is a friend and former TLC manager, Ian Burke. He is with us here in our Atlanta studios. Thank you very much for coming in this morning.

IAN BURKE, FORMER PRODUCER, TLC: My pleasure.

HARRIS: I understand, it has got to be very tough...

BURKE: Yes. Absolutely.

HARRIS: ...this morning and a tough night. How did you find out, and when did you find out?

BURKE: I found out late last night. I was leaving Showcase, and a young lady called me from Los Angeles, and I thought it was a rumor. And as we continued talking about it, I decided I better put a call in to the family just to verify. And when I called, her stepfather answered the phone, and, you know, I could tell by his tone right then that, you know...

HARRIS: Something was wrong.

BURKE: Something was wrong.

HARRIS: And we talked about this briefly a moment ago. Her family has already been through tragedies before.

BURKE: Absolutely. When Lisa actually first got her recording deal, when she first went with Pebbles, her father was tragically killed as well back in '91, '92. And, you know, for her mother to be going through this all over again, and I spoke with her earlier today, it is really hard. It is really hard right now.

HARRIS: It has got to be, it has got to be. We can't even imagine what that must be like. I have to ask you this. When you found out about what happened, did you find out more than what we know at this particular point?

BURKE: No, actually...

HARRIS: What did you hear? BURKE: I -- when I talked to her stepfather, he just told me that there was a car accident, and Lisa didn't make it. And at that time, I felt the grief, and I -- so I could imagine what they were going through. I didn't press it any more. I didn't want to ask any more questions. I just told her stepfather that I would call her mother, Ms. Wanda (ph) tomorrow, which was today.

HARRIS: Well, the reason I ask you that is because -- I don't know, I don't want to start any rumors or suspicions or anything, but we hear that there were a number of six, seven people in the car.

BURKE: Right.

HARRIS: She was the only one killed. In fact, we heard that the others really weren't even injured.

BURKE: Right. Well, there are some stories conflicting to that. We don't know what is fact and what is fiction at this point. But she was the one driving the vehicle, and she was trying to pass another car, and I believe hit another car head on.

HARRIS: Head on.

BURKE: And then, that she was the driver, that would only make sense, you know what I'm saying? The impact was right where she was.

HARRIS: Considering the narrow roads in Honduras.

BURKE: Yes. Exactly.

HARRIS: Yes. I just can barely even imagine that.

Let's move on to something, hopefully, much more pleasant. Give us some of your memories of her. You brought some pictures in with you.

BURKE: Yes.

HARRIS: I want to take a look at some of these pictures that you brought in of her, and just give us some of your memories and thoughts this morning.

BURKE: Oh, absolutely. That is the original group, Second Nature, which is -- Lisa is sitting down there with the hat on.

HARRIS: On the left.

BURKE: Right. And the original member, the original "C" in the group was Crystal Jones, and on the extreme right is Tionne Watkins, "T-Boz." This is Second Nature. This is the group that I took to Pebbles.

HARRIS: Yes. And they were how old back then?

BURKE: They were 17 and 18.

HARRIS: 17 -- And you saw that much potential in them back then?

BURKE: Absolutely. And this is the finished product. This is where Pebbles took it.

HARRIS: OK.

BURKE: You know, it was just the -- so much character with Lisa, and Tionne. I doesn't really know Rozanda at the time. There was so much character. I knew that they were going to be stars. You could just look at them and tell.

This is -- wow, this is -- this was actually our logo shot. Lisa and I had a venture in 2000 where we merged and were doing some things, developing some new acts, and trying to get them record deals, and this was actually the logo that we used for our venture. Which is...

HARRIS: Yes.

BURKE: And this is Lisa hosting the ASCAP awards in -- I believe 1999. I worked for ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and what she was doing was she was signing a poster for the King family, because he was on the poster that year.

HARRIS: You know, I have to ask you this on the way out, because it just seems to me like only a few days ago we were all going through the same range of emotions, same thoughts about Aaliyah, and that tragic accident that happened with her in that plane crash. The parallels here. What do you think then, considering what happened with Aaliyah's legacy after that plane crash, how do you think this is going to play out?

BURKE: Well, I got a lot of pages and people calling me and trying to parallel the two, you know, and I really feel they were two separate, tragic accidents. You know what I'm saying? I don't want to try to start saying that this is something prophetic, or we need to watch what we are doing. These are just two incidents that just happened. You know what I'm saying? Regardless of the reasons, you know, I'm sure everybody has in their minds different reasons for what may have happened to both of these lovely young ladies, but...

HARRIS: But one of the reasons she was in Honduras is because that is a place where, from what I hear, she found spiritual...

(CROSSTALK)

BURKE: ...peace. Absolutely. Absolutely. She had actually purchased property in Honduras. She went there. When she first started going there, she stopped drinking, she stopped smoking. She was getting healthier. She was cooking and eating healthier, and it was her sanctuary. That's where she went to get way from all of the madness, all of the drama. If anything went wrong in the news, she was on a plane and headed to Honduras, and she loved it so much that she took her people out there with her. She always traveled with her people, and she took them out there with her, and you know -- That's that. HARRIS: What happens to the group now?

BURKE: That's a good question. They were due to release a album, I believe, this summer. There is a new album. I can only imagine what Tionne and Chilli are feeling, despite all the rumors and all the fighting and bickering that seemed to be happening in the foreground. In the background, they loved each other. That's just the simple truth. They cared about each other. They cared about Lisa and her well-being, and they wanted to make sure she was straight at all times.

I can't say that the group will continue on. I really don't know. I know "L.A." Reid is also very hurt about this. It is all up to them. I can't see them going on, but that's just me. I don't know.

HARRIS: Well, here is hoping that they all find a way to go on.

BURKE: Absolutely.

HARRIS: This tragedy -- incredible tragedy to have happen, and there is no good time to have something like this happen, but this is a terrible time. We thank you for your time this morning.

BURKE: Thank you for having me.

HARRIS: Ian Burke, I know this has got to be a tough morning for you, we sure do appreciate you coming in and giving us your thoughts this morning.

BURKE: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

HARRIS: No problem. Give our best to the family.

BURKE: I will do.

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