Many of Tina Knowles’ fondest childhood memories are of sitting under a pecan tree as her mother recited the history of their family, stretching back generations. Now, the mother of Beyoncé and Solange has given her own story to the world with “Matriarch: A Memoir,” out this week.

“Beyoncé and Solange have been busy since they were little kids working, and Kelly (Rowland). … I’ve told them stories, but I don’t even know if they really listened,” said Knowles, 71. “When you’re young, it’s very few people who want to hear those stories about old times.”

At 59, Knowles began recording voice notes of that history — adding in her contributions — after contemplating her mortality following her divorce from Mathew Knowles after a three-decade marriage. The recordings were meant only for her grandkids and future great-grandchildren, before eventually becoming book's foundation.

The 432-page Oprah’s Book Club selection explores a vast range of topics, including her enslaved great-grandmothers, her entrepreneurial spirit, the Houston childhoods of Beyoncé and Solange, her infidelity-plagued first marriage, Destiny’s Child's struggle to get a record deal, and the blatant racism her family experienced navigating a segregated United States. (She was once allowed to briefly sit in the front of a whites-only bus as a child, disguised by her fair skin tone.)

But you won’t find juicy details from the protective mother; there’s no mention of the infamous 2014 Met Gala elevator incident between Jay-Z and Solange, or of Kanye West taking the mic from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs in his attempted defense of Beyoncé. This is Celestine Beyoncé's story — not her children's — still intriguing and personal, revealing she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer last year. She had initially left it out of the book.

“I just wanted to keep it to myself … as I went through that process of getting the surgery and all of that, there were things that I felt that I needed to share,” said Knowles, who is now cancer-free after surgery and treatment, and urges women to make mammogram appointments and get second opinions.

Knowles, who next month will launch a nine-city book tour that will include conversations with famous friends like former first lady Michelle Obama and Tyler Perry.

As Destiny’s Child's stylist and Beyoncé’s mom, the Associated Press asked Knowles if there’s a desire to get due credit. “I definitely feel like I was a driving force,” she said. “I think I’ve dimmed my light for so long, I don’t want to do it anymore.”

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Tennessee board recommends that governor pardon country star Jelly Roll

The Tennessee Board of Parole on Tuesday recommended a pardon for country music star Jelly Roll, a Nashville native who has spoken openly about his criminal record and what it has taken to overcome it. The board's action leaves the final decision on a pardon up to Gov. Bill Lee.

The rapper-turned-country singer wants to be able to travel internationally to perform and share his message of redemption, after spending time behind bars as a young person.

The board issued its nonbinding recommendation unanimously after a hearing that lasted about an hour and 45 minutes with several witnesses, including Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall, advocating for the 40-year-old musician named Jason DeFord. One board member recused themselves from voting.

Jelly Roll broke into country music with the 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” and crossover songs like “Need a Favor.” He has won multiple CMT Awards, a CMA Award and earned four Grammy nominations, including for new artist of the year.

“This was incredible,” he said of the board's decision. “I pray this goes through. But today was special for me, regardless.”

His most serious convictions include a robbery at age 17 and drug charges at 23. In the first case, a female acquaintance helped Jelly Roll and two other young men enter a house in 2002. Both of the others were carrying guns, although Jelly Roll was unarmed. They demanded money, and received $350 and a wallet with no money in it. Because the victims knew the female acquaintance, she and Jelly Roll were arrested right away. He was sentenced to serve a year in prison and additional time on probation.

Later, in 2008, police on patrol found both marijuana and crack cocaine in his car. He was sentenced to eight years of court-ordered supervision.

He also has two misdemeanor offenses for driving without a license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lee, a Republican, said every case seeking clemency, such as pardons, is equally important and goes through a thorough process.

“The reporting on Jelly Roll, that’s encouraging for his situation, but there are steps yet to happen in that case,” he told reporters Tuesday.

Jelly Roll told the board that while in a detention center, he fell in love with songwriting. “It started as a passion project that felt therapeutic and would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable and opened doors that I’ve never thought possible,” he said.

These days, he often visits jails and rehabilitation centers before performing concerts. He has bought restaurants out for the day to feed people who are homeless and played basketball with kids at a youth center the same day that he performed in Winnipeg. He said he generally doesn't seek out news coverage when he makes these visits.

As a part of the pardon application, friends and civic leaders wrote to the board about Jelly Roll’s transformation and generosity. Hall, who runs Nashville’s jail, wrote that Jelly Roll had an awakening in one of the jails he managed. Live Nation Entertainment CEO and President Michael Rapino also wrote in his favor, pointing out all the money he has given from his performances to charities for at-risk youth.

One of the reasons Jelly Roll gave for needing a pardon is to be able to travel to Canada to perform, which his criminal record makes difficult. Currently, he would need to apply for a special permit that can include long wait times for a decision, according to a letter from an immigration attorney submitted with his clemency packet.

“I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be — to let them know that change is truly possible," Jelly Roll told the board. “One of the reasons I’m asking for your recommendation for this pardon is because I’m looking to take my message of redemption through the power of music and faith through the rest of the world.”

He said he would use the pardon for much more than going on tour, though.

“I’ll still be using this same pardon, God willing, to go do missionary work in my 50s and 60s,” he said.

Due to his criminal record, he told the board that every time he travels it “takes a team of lawyers and a mountain of paperwork to secure my entry into those countries.” He said he recently was able to make his first tour in Canada and took his first trip to the United Kingdom, where he spoke about a rehabilitation program.

The parole board began considering Jelly Roll's pardon application in October 2024, which marks at least five years since his sentence expired.

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Meghan Markle faces new plagiarism claim from British author

Acclaimed British children’s author and illustrator Mel Elliott revealed over the weekend that her series of Pearl Power children’s books may have offered more than inspiration for a Netflix project Meghan Markle planned to undertake, as part of her and Prince Harry’s $100 million production deal.

Elliott went as far as to have her legal team send letters to the Duchess of Sussex, via her Archewell production company, raising concerns about the “striking similarities” between her three books about a little girl named Pearl Power and “Pearl,” an animated series about another little girl the duchess planned to produce with Sir Elton John’s husband David Furnish.

In 2021, Meghan and Archewell announced they were “partnering” with Netflix to produce “Pearl,” which follows a girl “as she learns to step into her power and finds inspiration from influential women throughout history.”

Meghan was set to be executive producer, and the first episode would show Pearl meeting Billie Jean King.

But then “Pearl” was quietly scrapped, scrubbed from the Archewell website and never publicly spoken of again. Elliott can’t say for sure, but she believes her legal letter might have something to do with the demise of “Pearl.”

“Meghan is a feminist who sticks up for other women, so I was disappointed and confused to see how similar Netflix’s proposed show ‘Pearl’ was to my own Pearl Power, who had been created seven years earlier,” Elliott said.

“The world of arts and media are very competitive and I’m afraid it’s quite common for powerful people to rip off the work of less well-known creatives — although I’m not saying that’s what happened here,” Elliott also said.

Elliott said she would have been happy for Meghan to go forward with her Netflix animated series, but she would have liked to contribute to the project and get credit.

Markles has faced multiple accusations in recent months of “repackaging” other people’s work and ideas and not giving credit, said Tom Sykes of the Daily Beast.

Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, seemed to borrow both its name and aesthetic from an existing New York-based clothing shop. The mayor of a small town on Mallorca complained that the logo for As Ever brand was strikingly similar to the coat of arms of her own community.

Even the title and concept for Meghan’s new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder” may not be so original. There’s a YouTube channel called “Confessions of a Female Founder” and podcasts titled “Confessions of a CEO” and “Confessions of a Founder.”

But wrote that all these coincidences, “taken together,” risk undermining Meghan’s carefully curated image “as a creative force for good.”

“For someone who frequently speaks about values like authenticity, empowerment and lifting up women’s voices, it all feels increasingly off-brand,” Sykes said.

From combined wire services