Clarence Avant, nicknamed the “Godfather of Black Music,” turned 90 years old on Thursday (Feb. 25), and his son Alex took to Instagram to celebrate the major milestone.
After revealing that his legendary dad does not have an Instagram account, he captioned a series of sweet father-son photos with that caption, “As a son, I couldn’t have asked for a greater gift with having you as a father. Knowing that a lot of black kids in particular don’t ever get a chance to know their father for whatever reason makes me feel blessed beyond measure.”
“Your generosity is rare and should be studied. Your ability to personally find positive solutions for thousands of people including myself when things look dark is magical,” he continued. “I’ve been exposed to some of the most fascinating experiences life can offer as a kid. Coming from Greensboro North Carolina (Climax) who would have known that you would quietly have your hands in some of the most profound moments in entertainment, politics and sports history. I’m hoping this birthday brings you all the joy. You couldn’t be more thoughtful and I couldn’t be more grateful. Your strength, your wisdom, your laughter makes life on this earth much brighter and it’s all locked inside me forever . Even getting cursed out a zillion times (haha) was an indirect blessing. We learn from yesterday, we live for today, and we hope for tomorrow. Here’s a message for you Dad, ‘It’s all about the numbers’ well Happy 90th birthday Dad.”
See the post here.
Beneath the post, a number of celebrities flooded the comments section with birthday wishes for the former artist manager, label executive, radio broadcaster, music publisher, powerhouse negotiator, social activist/philanthropist and Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee.
“A big Happy Birthday to your incredible dad @iamalexavant,” Latoya Jackson commented.
“VerifiedNo IG account, but he’s got an accoplished [sic] OG account,” Quincy Jones cleverly wrote.
“Happy Birthday Godfather!!!” Kuk Harrell wrote.
“Happy bday pops! Legend,” Marlon Wayans added.
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, wrote, “Happy Birthday,” with a crown and heart eyes emoji.
Over on Twitter, Queen Latifah, Kevin Hart, Lionel Richie and more shared photos with the Godfather along with loving messages. See them below.
