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1st.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
102: WALTER
FRANCIS WHITE (1896-1955)
Hero's
Day-United republic of Tanzania.
1912Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor(uk
composer) dies. Born 1875. (composer)
1944
Archie
Bell
soul singer born on this day in Houston, Texas, USA. The group was
formed by Archie and his friends who were all students at Leo Smith
Junior High School in Houston, Texas. There first record was in the
Ovide label in 1967. The single produced by Skippy Lee Frazier (their
manager) was distributed by Atlantic records and initially a poor
seller, it found success when the 'b' side was given airplay. The
group is best remembered for the 3 million seller Tighten Up that
reached No.1 R&B/POP. (mn)
1949
Greg
Erricoof
Sly & Family Stone born today. A band that was dogged by Sly
Stone's drug addition, who was jailed for possession of cocaine
in 1987 and was fighting extradition charges. The group is best
remembered for their 1968 hit Dance To The Music. (mn-jt)
1970
Dr. Hugh Scott of Washington, D.C., becomes the first
African American superintendent of schools in a major U.S. city. (tr-iokts)
2nd.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
103: WHITNEY
M. YOUNG, JR.(1921 -1971)
1766
James
Forten,
born in Philadelphia, Pa, USA. James Forten
(1766–1842), an African-American abolitionist and business man,
was born a free man in Philadelphia. At the age of 14, he joined the
navy to serve on the Royal Lewis in the Revolutionary War, where he
invented a device to handle ship sails. He was apprenticed as a
sailmaker and became a foreman in 1786, and later owned his own
company. Forten became an advocate of temperance, women's suffrage
and equal rights for African-Americans. James Forten and Richard
Allen formed the Convention of Color in 1817. The organization argued
for the settlement of escaped black slaves in Canada but strongly
opposed plans for repatriation to Africa. Forten specifically opposed
the British policy of resettling black veterens of the Revolutionary
War in Sierra Leone. With the help of Richard Allen and Absalom
Jones, he enlisted 2500 Blacks to guard Philadelphia during the War
of 1812. William helped his friend William Lloyd Garrison form the
American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 and contributed to his
newspaper, the Liberty. Forten's daughter, Harriet, married Robert
Purvis, and his daughter, Margaretta, was an officer of the Female
Anti-Slavery Society in Philidelphia in 1845. His grandaughter,
Charlotte Forten Grimké was a antislavery activist, poet,
educator and abolitionist. (wickpedia)
1939
Bobby
Purify
soul singer with James & Bobby Purify born Robert Lee Dickey.
Best remembered for 1967 hit 'I'm Your Puppet'.
This Southern soul duo were not actually brothers but cousins. James
Purify and Robert Lee Dickey joined forces for some classic Southern
soul duets during the mid-'60s. Producer Papa Don Schroeder brought
the soulful Floridians to Muscle Shoals in 1966 to record at Rick
Hall's Fame studios, and the result was the gorgeous mid-tempo
"I'm Your Puppet." The Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham ballad
proved their biggest hit for the Bell label, although "Let Love
Come Between Us" and their revival of the Five Du-Tones'
"Shake a Tail Feather" also made some major noise in 1967.
When Bobby mutinied, James went it alone for a while before
recruiting a new Bobby (Ben Moore), and they picked up right where
the old duo left off. (mn-jt-bd)
1943
Joe
Simonsoul
singer born in Simmersport, Louisiana, USA. His plaintive baritone
equally conversant with R&B and country phrasing, Joe Simon
married the two genres with startling success during the late '60s,
adapting Nashville material to the soul sound and repeatedly coming
up a winner. Simon began recording in the Bay Area, but a switch in
recording sites (first to Muscle Shoals for Vee-Jay and then to
Nashville, upon signing with disc jockey John Richbourg's Sound Stage
7 label in 1966) heightened his national appeal. With easy access to
prime country-oriented material, Simon soon found his true calling,
scoring major hits with "Nine Pound Steel," "(You Keep
Me) Hangin' On," and the number one R&B smash "The
Chokin' Kind," penned by Music Row tunesmith Harlan Howard.
Still dabbling in country covers after switching to the Spring
imprint in 1970, Simon was even more successful when assigned to
Philadelphia wizards Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced the
moody "Drowning in the Sea of Love" the next year. Simon
tried his hand at disco in 1975 with the sizzling "Get Down, Get
Down (Get on the Floor)" and "Music in My Bones," two
of the most palatable artifacts of the era. Simon eventually retired
from active performing to devote his life to the church. ~ Bill Dahl,
All Music Guide
1943
Rosealind
Ashford
soul singer with Martha & Vandellas born. Along with the
Supremes, Martha & the Vandellas defined the distaff side of the
Motown sound in the 1960s; their biggest hits, including "Heat
Wave," "Dancing in the Street," and "Nowhere to
Run," remain among the most potent and enduring dance records of
the era. The vocal group was led by Martha Reeves who, along with
fellow Detroit natives Annette Sterling Beard, Gloria Williams, and
Rosalind Ashford, founded the Del-Phis in 1960. After Reeves landed a
secretarial position at the offices of Motown Records, the Del-Phis
were tapped to record a one-off single for the label's Melody
imprint, which they cut under the name the Vels. (mn-jt)
1958Race
War Siege - Petrol Bomb thrown as 200 surround house.
The headline read in The Daily
Herald - Fourty arrested as police, with dogs, swoop at midnight -
men with knives rounded up. Fourty
terified Jamaicans
barricaded themselves in their home last night -
The
second night of London's race war. (mn-herald)
1960
Wilma Rudolph is first African American woman to win three
gold medals at the Olympic Games. (tr-bl)
1965
Lennox Lewis
WBC Heavyweight World Champion Boxer is born. Record: 32-1 (26). He
resides in London, England and his best wins were Razor Ruddock;
Tommy Morrison and Andrew Golata. (mn-ring)
1969
Norman
Manleyone
time premier of Jamaica/leader of the West Indies Federal Labour
Party dies. Now a Jamaican National Hero. Norman Washington Manley MM
QC (July 4, 1893 - September 2, 1969), was a Jamaican statesman. A
Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the
1920s. With his cousin, Alexander Bustamante, Manley was an advocate
of universal suffrage which was granted the colony in 1944. He
founded the left wing People's National Party which later was tied to
the Trade Union Congress and the National Workers' Union, together
with Bustamante, in 1938, and led it in every election from 1944 to
1967. Their efforts resulted in the New Constitution of 1944 granting
full Adult Suffrage. He served as the colony's Chief Minister from
1955 to 1959, and as Premier from 1959 to 1962. He was a proponent of
the island's participation in the Federation of the West Indies but
bowed to pressure to hold a referendum in 1961 which resulted in
Jamaica withdrawing from the union. (mn-cb)
1971
Julie
Dexterjazz/soul
singer born. Her parents are from Jamaica, and she was born and
raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, til the age of six, then moved to
Kings Norton. Julie went to Turves Green Girl School, Joseph
Chamberlain College (same as me) then moved to London, and then to
the states. Julie gained her “chops” for cutting her vocals
on this record by touring several continents with jazz wunderkind
Courtney Pine as a lead vocalist of his ensemble. This musical school
of tough-love learning would also give her the confidence to begin to
perform and record as a solo artist, garnering the seven song EP,
Peace of Mind (2000) and then later the full-length recording,
Dexterity (2002), both of which were independently released on her
own label, Ketch A Vibe. These two recordings gained international
acclaim for Julie's talents in addition to her collaborations with
broken-beat innovator IG Culture ("The Plan" &
"Free As") and bossa nova composer Thomas Naim ("Like
Ours"). (bbc-juliedexter.com)
1975
Joseph W. Hatcher of Tallahassee, Fla., becomes the state's
first African American supreme court justice since
reconstruction. (tr-iokts)
1995
Frank Bruno wins WBC Heavyweight Championship title in a
fight against Oliver McCall (USA) at Wembley Stadium, London, on
points fter the twelth round. (mn)
1983
The Thatcher Government is alarmed by 'Black aspect' type education
in our schools. They wanted history taught to project what the Times
Higher Education Supplement called 'an interpretation of the British
experience that is expedient to our present leaders rather than
faithful to the historical record (They wanted 'Patriotic'
history!) (mn-pf)
3rd.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
104: CHARLES
H. HOUSTON (1895-1950)
1915
Memphis
Slim blues
man born Peter Chapman. He first left the US in 1960 in order to
help organize the American Blues Festival in London. That was
Europe's introduction to Blues and Memphis. After this he decided to
live in France. He says "it wasn't until Elvis started playing
the blues that white boys took any notice, until then it was called
race music - now it's big money!". (dies February 24, 1988,
Paris France. (mn-jt-rs)
1930
Dr.
Charles Ssaliborn
in Masaka, Prof. Ssali had a career that spurned three continents
and several countries, including Uganda, Kenya, England and Saudi
Arabia. He was Uganda's first ENT professor at Mulago. His product
mariandina was supposed to cure AIDS. Dies 1998. (mn)
1934
Freddie King
US blues guitarist born Freddie Christian. He was a major
influence on popular British guitarists. Early work is found on King
records. Throughout 1976, Freddie King toured America, even though
his health was beginning to decline. On December 29, 1976, King died
of heart failure. Although his passing was premature — he was
only 42 years old — Freddie King's influence could still be
heard in blues and rock guitarists decades after his death. (mn-jt)
1944
Harris 'BB'
Seaton,
reggae singer born. Began singing with the Gaylads with ska, but
blossomed in the rocksteady era with hit after hit - including: Girl
With The Red Dress On, Love Me With All Your Heart, You'll never
leave him, You Should Never Do That and Red Rose. He did quite well
as a solo artiste but never quite as big as when with the Gaylads. (mn-jahb-tr)
1970
Delegates from 27 African and Caribbean countries convened in
Atlanta, Ga., for the first Congress of African People.
2000
R.
H. Harris,
last surviving member of the original Soul Stirers dies.
Indisputably among the premier gospel groups of the modern era, the
Soul Stirrers pioneered the contemporary quartet sound. Pushing the
music away from the traditional repertoire of jubilees and spirituals
towards the visceral, deeply emotional hard gospel style so popular
among postwar listeners, the group's innovative arrangements -- they
were the first quartet to add a second lead -- and sexually charged
presence irrevocably blurred the lines between religious and secular
music while becoming a seminal influence on the development of rock
& roll and soul, most notably by virtue of their connection to
the legendary Sam Cooke. The Soul Stirrers' origins date back to
1926, where in the town of Trinity, TX, baritone Senior Roy Crain
formed a quartet with a number of other teens with whom he attended
church. After one of the group's early appearances, a member of the
audience approached Crain to tell him how their performance had
"stirred his soul," and from this chance compliment the
Soul Stirrers were officially born.
2011
McKinley
'Bug' Williams of
soul group Maze passed away. Maze's percussionist and vocalist
suffered a heart attack whilst the group were on the road for an
appearance in Chattanooga, Tennessee. McKinley provided vocals on all songs.
He was a lifelong friend of Frankie Beverly and was also a co-founder
member of the band. He was also a member of the Butlers prior to Maze
with Beverly, (br-mn)
4th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
105: WILLIAM
H. HASTIE
1838
Fredrick Douglass escapes from slavery, disguised as a sailor.
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland in 1818, and was given the name Frederick Augustus
Washington Bailey (Baly), after his mother Harriet Bailey. During the
course of his remarkable life he escaped from slavery, became
internationally renowned for his eloquence in the cause of liberty,
and went on to serve the national government in several official
capacities. Through his work he came into contact with many of the
leaders of his times. His early work in the cause of freedom brought
him into contact with a wide array of abolitionists and social
reformers, including William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
John Brown, Gerrit Smith and many others. As a major Stationmaster on
the Underground Railroad he directly helped hundreds on their way to
freedom through his adopted home city of Rochester, NY. (tr-iokts)
1908
Richard Wright,
author, born in Natchez, Ms, USA. Richard Wright's 1940 novel Native
Son was a best-seller and is still considered a classic of modern
American literature. One of the most influential African-American
writers of the 20th century, Wright grew up in Mississippi and
Tennessee, then ended up in Chicago at the age of 19. Self-educated,
he turned to writing poetry and short stories. He received critical
attention for his first book, Uncle Tom's Children (1938). After
World War II Wright, disillusioned with race relations in the U.S.,
settled permanently in France. His other works include Black Boy
(1945), The Outsider (1953) and a posthumously published collection
of stories, Eight Men (1960). (mn)
1930
[Jerry
Ragavoy]
singer/songwriter/producer born in Philadelphia, USA. His career
as a songwriter began in the doo-wop era of the early 1950s. His
first successful act was the Castelles, who had a hit with My Girl
Awaits Me in 1953. A white guy with a great sense of soul, wrote and
produced some of the world's great soul gems.] (mn)
1942
Merald Knight a
'Pip' with Gladys Knight & Pips born. They made the Top Ten in
1961 with the heavily doo wop-influenced "Every Beat of My
Heart," and recorded some fine, nowadays overlooked, pop-soul
sides for the Fury and Maxx labels in the early and mid-'60s,
sometimes under the direction of songwriter Van McCoy. A couple
singles from this period, "Letter Full of Tears" and
"Giving Up," made the Top 40, but Knight didn't hit his
commercial stride until they moved to Motown in 1966. (mn-jt)
1946
Ronald La Preadsoul
singer with The Commodores is born. Known for such hits as "Just
to Be Close to You," "Easy," and
"Brickhouse," to name a few, the Commodores were one of the
top bands during their long tenure at Motown. The group is credited
with seven number one songs and a host of other Top Ten numbers on
the Billboard charts. They also have a vast music catalog that has
generated more than 50 albums, and the recordings continue to be in
demand. The members of the Commodores, all of whom attended Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama, came together as a result of two groups
disbanding: the Mystics and the Jays. (mn-jt)
1948Lewis
Howard Latimer,
the inventor is born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA. He patents
Carbon filament for the incandescent lamp (the filament is a key part
of a light bulb.) He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, to Rebecca
and George Latimer, who were runaway slaves. Rebecca and George were
both born in Virginia. Lewis had a sibling: William H. Lattimer
(1846-?) who worked as a barber. During the Civil War, Lewis served
on the Navy's U.S.S. Massasoit. After receiving an honorable
discharge on July 3, 1865, he gained employment as an office boy with
a patent law firm, Crosby and Gould, with a $3.00 per week salary.
Later, after his boss recognized his talent for sketching patent
drawings, Latimer was promoted to the position of head draftsman
earning $20.00 a week. He married Mary Wilson (1848-?) in November of
1873 but they didn't have any children. Mary was born in Rhode
Island. In 1873, he invented an improved toilet system for railroad
cars called the water closet for railroad cars. In 1876, Alexander
Graham Bell hired Latimer to draft the necessary drawings required to
receive a patent for Bell's telephone. In 1880, he moved to
Bridgeport, Connecticut and his brother, William, and his mother,
Rebecca, lived with him and his wife. Lewis was hired as assistant
manager and draftsman for the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. Latimer
received a patent in January 1882 for the "Process of
Manufacturing Carbons", an improved method for the production of
lightbulb filaments which yielded longer lasting bulbs than Thomas
Edison's technique. (wikipedia)
1957
Frankie Lymon dropped out of the UK chart for the last time while
still not having reached his 15th birthday. (mn-jt)
1957
Arkansas governor Orvil Faubus calls out the National Guard to bar
Negro students from entering a Little Rock high school. (tr-iokts)
1961
Yasus Afari, dub
poet born John Sinclair in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. Best known for
I-Pen with Garnet Silk Born J. Sinclair, Jamaica, West Indies. There
has been a myriad of dub poets in Jamaica, with Oku Onuora and
Mutabaruka having carved a considerable niche in this particular
market. Yusus Afari's recitals are comparable in both articulation
and pronunciation to that of Mutabaruka. His earliest recording was
produced by Courtney Cole and Barry O'Hare at the Grove Studios in
Ocho Rios in the north of the island. Cole was proving to be a
serious contender in the reggae field with his Roof International
label, which introduced a number of new performers to the arena,
including Mikey Spice and Garnett Silk. It was in combination with
Silk that Afari's debut appeared; the duo covered Johnny Nash's
"I Can See Clearly Now", interspersed with verses from
Afari. In 1993 Afari had recorded an album's worth of material with
assistance from Maxi Priest for the track "Work" and again
with Silk for "People Dancing". Appearing in traditional
African dress, Afari was proclaimed to be the Afromantic Honour
Dread. In the spring of 1996 he accompanied fellow dub poet
Mutabaruka, Tony Rebel and Uton Green on a tour of Ethiopia, (tr-rr)
1981
Destany's Child's,
Beyonce Knowles
born in Houston, Texas, USA. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles started
performing at age seven. From dance classes to singing in the church
choir, Beyoncé was a natural. She and cousin Kelly Rowland met
Latavia Roberson during this time, and the trio formed a group with
Letoya Luckett. Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé's father and Rowland's
legal guardian, signed on to be the girls' manager. This situation
would ultimately lead to the formation of one of the most popular
female R&B groups of all time -- Destiny's Child. Destiny's Child
made its debut 1990 and within ten years, the vocal act had
experienced personal and political highs and lows that fueled the
group's desire to make it big. Destiny's Child sold 33 million albums
worldwide by 2002 and earned a slew of Grammys and additional music
awards. "Jumpin' Jumpin'," "Bills, Bills, Bills,"
"Say My Name," and "Survivor" were smash hits,
and the group appeared unstoppable. In 2001, Beyoncé, Rowland,
and Michelle Williams allowed themselves a break from the singing
group and tried their hands at individual solo careers. Before
landing several movie roles, Beyoncé became the first
African-American female artist and second woman ever to win the
annual ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year Award. An appearance in the
MTV drama Carmen: A Hip Hopera quickly followed, but it was her role
as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002 that
eventually moved Beyoncé from the stage to the screen. Her
first single, "Work It Out," coincided with the release of
the Mike Myers comedy and cemented her celebrity status. A guest spot
on Jay-Z's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" was equally popular
when it appeared in October. In 2003, she rejoined Jay-Z for her
proper debut single, the funkadelic "Crazy in Love," as the
press and fans christened her a bona fide star. Beyoncé's
debut album, Dangerously in Love, which appeared in June 2003,
featured collaborations with Sean Paul, Missy Elliott, and OutKast's
Big Boi. The multiplatinum album spawned a total of four Top Ten
singles. Nearly two years after another Destiny's Child album
(Destiny Fulfilled), Beyoncé released her second album, B'day.
~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
1984 First
Tuesday: Mary Seacole (A Notable Nurse)
- Is broadcasted by ITV television. A Yorkshire Television
production. Short profile of the nineteenth-century Jamaican nurse
Mary Seacole (1805-81) who was decorated by Queen Victoria for her
work in the Crimean War. (mn-sb)
2009
Michael Jackson funeral. Friends and family of Michael Jackson have
paid their last respects to the singer known as the King of Pop at a
funeral ceremony outside Los Angeles. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, actor
Macaulay Culkin and music producer Quincy Jones were among the 200
invited guests. Gladys Knight sang at the service while civil
rights campaigner the Reverend Al Sharpton was one of the speakers.
The ceremony was due to begin at 0200 GMT at Glendale's Forest Lawn
Memorial Park but began more than an hour late. (bbc)
5th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
106: JAMES
B. PARSONS
1859
Our Nig, by Harriet E. Wilson, is published, the first U.S. novel an
African American woman. (tr-iokts)
1922
Zuzu
Bollin,
journeyman jump-blue singer/guitarist, born, A.D. Bollin, Frisco,
Texas, UA. Dies October 26, 1990, West Dallas, Texas, USA. Two 78s in
the early '50s and a 1989 rediscovery album don't add up to much of a
recorded legacy. But Zuzu Bollin's contribution to the Texas blues
legacy shouldn't be overlooked — his T-Bone Walker-influenced
sound typified postwar Lone Star blues guitar. (mn-rs-bd)
1960
Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet, politician, elected
president of Senegal. A darling of French literary salons, Senegal's
first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor, was much admired for his
poetic output. His detractors, however, saw in him the archetypal
neo-colonial stooge -- a protégé of the French
political establishment. His admirers appreciated that he stepped
down from office to concentrate on his poetry and art. He himself
wanted to be remembered as a poet, not a politician. (b.1906-d.2001) (mn)
1937
Dave Pratter soul
singer with Sam and Dave born in Georgia, USA. Best remembered for Soul
Man in 1967 and Hold On I'm Coming in 1969 for Stax
Records. (mn)
1946
Buddy
Miles
singer/drummer born. Miles was the drummer for Wilson Pickett until
in 1967 he joined the Electric Flag. Buddy was part of the ill fated
Band of Gypsies for Jimmi Hendrix in 1969, also the guiding force
behind the California Raisins, a cartoon group inspired by television
advertising. (mn-jt)
1998
Birmingham's Bill Duffus organises a one day event designed to bring
together all factions of black community entitled Vision 2000. (mn)
6th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
107: THURGOOD
MARSHALL (1908- )
Independence
Day - The Kingdom of Swaziland.
1888
Lee Roy Young becomes the first African American Texas Ranger in the
force's 165-year history. (tr-iokts)
1925
Jimmy
Reed
singer born Mathis James Reed in Mississippi, USA; he suffered from
epilepsy from the mid-60s and died in his sleep in 1976 in
California, but not before becoming a much loved and influential
blues singer and songwriter; he also played guitar and harmonica. He
signed with Vee Jay in Chicago and had 13 influential R&B hits
1956-61, Baby What You Want Me To Do was covered by Elvis Presley,
and Honest I Do By Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones. d.29/9/76
1946
Billy
Preston,
soul singer/keyboards, born, Houston, Texas, USA. At age twelve he
had a cameo role in a film about W.C. Handy, St. Louis Blues, in
which he played the composer as a child. Already an established
keyboard session player in America, then fifteen year old Billy
Preston first met the Beatles in 1962 in Hamburg while he was touring
with Little Richard. Because of their closeness in ages, he and
George Harrison became close friends. Billy got to spend much time
with the Beatles and see them perform during this exciting time.
Billy went on to play keyboards for Sam Cooke, and also in the band
on the Shindig TV show. His first charting record was an instrumental
gospel album, The Most Exciting Organ Ever, for Vee Jay records in
1966. The Get Back single was credited as "The Beatles
with Billy Preston", the first time another artist was credited
on a Beatles record, gaining him the title in some circles as
"the fifth Beatle". In addition, although you can barely
see it in the Let It Be movie, Billy played with the group on the
famous "Rooftop Concert", the Beatles last live appearance
together. Billy had many gold singles in the early seventies,
including Will It Go 'Round In Circles, Nothing From Nothing and Outa
Space, which also won the Grammy as Best Pop Instrumental. In 1975 he
wrote You Are So Beautiful, which became a big hit for Joe Cocker,
and he also toured with the Rolling Stones. And in 1978, Billy
Preston's Beatles connection came full circle as he appeared with the
Bee Gees in the title role of Robert Stigwood's movie Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band, music produced by George Martin. (cl)
1979
Foxy Brown,
singer/rapper, born, Inga Marchland, New York. Before she had
released any material at all, Foxy Brown appeared on several
1995-1996 platinum singles, including her first credit, LL Cool J's
"I Shot Ya," as well as Total's "No One Else"
remix of Jay-Z's "Ain't No...," Toni Braxton's "You're
Makin' Me High" remix, and Case's "Touch Me, Tease Me."
The incredible success led to a major-label bidding war at the
beginning of 1996, and by March, Brown had signed with the Def Jam
label as another in the ranks of young and hard female rappers. The
Brooklyn native — separate from a similarly named reggae artist
— was born in 1979; in 1994, while still a teenager, she won a
talent contest in Brooklyn, and was invited to freestyle on stage. At
that time, Trackmasters were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith album,
and they decided to let her rap over "I Shot Ya." The
single became a hit, prompting Brown's work with Total, Braxton, and
Case, as well as her induction into the Firm posse (led by Nas and
also including AZ and Cormega). Brown's debut album, Ill Na Na, was
produced by Trackmasters, and featured appearances from Blackstreet,
Method Man, and Kid Capri. It hit number seven its first week on the
album charts. China Doll followed in early 1999 and the provacativity
continued on 2001's Broken Silence. (mn-ct)
1969
Cee
Cee Peniston,
singer born Cecelia Peniston in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She started
acting at high school when in her early teens. She went on to win
talent contests and was Miss Black Arizona and Miss Galaxy. She
worked as a backing singer while at school where she wrote her first
hit, Finally. Her albums include Finally (1992) and Moving On (1996). (mn-cl)
1987
Dr. Benjamin Carson separates Siamese Twins joined at the head.
Carson made medical history with this operation. The Binder twins
were born joined at the back of the head. Operations to separate
twins joined in this way had always failed, resulting in the death of
one or both of the infants. Carson agreed to undertake the operation.
A 70-member surgical team, led by Dr. Carson, worked for 22 hours. At
the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive
independently. (mn)
7th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
108: RALPH
J. BUNCHE (1904-1971)
1761Princess
Charlotte Sophia of African ancestry marries George III (who
was soon to become king of England.) Born May 19, 1744 as Princess
Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Charlotte first met her
future husband, King George III, on her September wedding day in
1761. This arranged marriage was, nonetheless, fruitful and Queen
Charlotte bore 15 children. That she was strong, prolific, a devoted
wife and mother and lived to age 74 is common knowledge, but little
else is known about Princess Charlotte. In a gallant effort to learn
more about the mysterious woman who became namesake to Charlotte, NC
(and Charlottesville, Virginia). (mn)
1914Jean
Blackwell Hutson
born, for thirty-two years Jean Blackwell Hutson guided the
development of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,
the world's most comprehensive collection of materials documenting
the history and culture of people of African descent. From curator in
1948 to chief until 1980, she worked to acquire, catalogue, and
exhibit materials under the auspices of the New York Public Library.
She lectured on history at the City College of New York for over a
decade and retired in 1984 (tr-bl)
1934
'Little'
Milton
Champbell soul singer/guitar player born James Milton Campbell,
Inverness, Mississippi, USA. Blues singer, songwriter and guitarist
"Little" Milton Campbell, noted for writing and recording
the blues anthem “The Blues Is Alright,”. Born to
sharecropping farmers near the Mississippi Delta town of Inverness,
his father, "Big" Milton Campbell, was known locally
playing blues gigs around town. "Little" Milton picked up a
guitar at age 12 and recorded his first hit for Sam Phillips' Sun
Records at age 18. Discovered by blues-rocker Ike Turner, Campbell
spent most of his storied career in the shadow of B.B. King. His
down-home vocal style and songwriting was often reminiscent of
King’s approach. Among Campbell’s hits were "I'm a
Lonely Man" and "That Will Never Do" under Bobbin
records; the 1965 hit "We're Gonna Make It" for Chess
Records, as well as "Baby I Love You," "If Walls Could
Talk," "Feel So Bad," "Who's Cheating Who?"
and "Grits Ain't Groceries." He released "Annie Mae's
Cafe" and "Little Bluebird" after signing with
Memphis' Stax Records in 1971 before the label folded. Died
from a stroke suffered July 27/2005 in Memphis. He was 71. (mn-rs)
1939 Latimore,
soul singer born Benjamin Laitimore, Charlston, Tennessee, USA. Deep-voiced
Latimore's sultry mid-'70s output for Miami's Glades label was a
steamy marriage of soul and blues. Initially billed as Benny
Latimore, the Tennessean began recording for Miami mogul Henry Stone
in 1965, and his late-'60s Dade singles are solid deep-soul. Dropping
his first name on Glades, Latimore finally found stardom in 1973 with
a jazzy reading of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday." He
topped the soul lists in 1974 with the anguished "Let's
Straighten It Out," a simmering soul/blues hybrid, and encored
with the incendiary "Keep the Home Fires Burnin'" the next
year. Most of Latimore's Glades sides were produced in Miami by Steve
"Every Day I Have to Cry" Alaimo, and when he wasn't
cutting his own hits, Latimore acted as a house pianist for parent TK
Records. Latimore moved to Malaco during the '80s, his appeal
undiminished. (mn-cl)
1946
Alfa
Andersonsoul
singer with Chic born. Formed in 1977 Chic were the most creative
and innovative of the successful artists of the 'Disco Era'. Edwards
(1952-1996) and Rodgers (1952-) had worked together in The Apollo
Theater orchestra moving with Thompson into The Big Apple Band, who
eventually backed short-lived vocal group, New York City. Around the
mid-1970s, the three musicians began to offer demo tapes around New
York consisting of a stripped-down soul rhythm which incorporated
elements of Motown's pop sensibility and the rawness of James Brown,
mixed into the all-pervading disco beat. (mn-jt)
1947
Gloria
Gaynor
'The Queen of Disco', singer born in Newark, New Jersey, USA.
Gloria Gaynor (real name Gloria Fowles), is a singer best-known for
the disco hit songs "I Will Survive" (Hot 100 #1, 1979) and
"Never Can Say Goodbye" (Hot 100 #9, 1974). She was a
singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/pop band, in the 1960s. Her
first solo single was "She'll Be Sorry / Let Me Go Baby"
(1965). The lyrics of "I Will Survive" are written from the
point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her ex-lover that
she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with
him. The song has become something of an anthem of female
emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke
nights, not to mention an anthem in North American gay culture. In
1999, Pixar animator Victor Navone used this song to create an alien
music video which for a time was a minor Internet phenomenon. An
interesting piece of trivia about "I Will Survive" is that
it was originally the B-side when Polydor Records released it in
1979. The A-side, a song called "Substitute", was
considered to be more "radio friendly." Radio DJs flipped
the record over and audience response forced the record company to
flip the songs and subsequent copies of the single listed "I
Will Survive" on the A-side. "Never Can Say Goodbye"
was the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart. (mn-wickpedia)
1954
School integration begins in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore,
Md. public schools.
1963 Easy-E,
rapper, born Eric Wright, Compton, CA., USA. Whether as a member of
N.W.A., a solo act, or a label head, Eazy-E was one of the most
controversial figures in gangsta rap. While his technical skills as a
rapper were never the greatest, his distinctive delivery (invariably
described as a high-pitched whine), over-the-top lyrics, and
undeniable charisma made him a star. Following N.W.A.'s breakup, E's
street credibility took a major beating, though his recordings
continued to sell well when they appeared; unfortunately, he was
diagnosed with AIDS in 1995, and died not long after. (mn-jf)
1971 Shane
Mosley
IBF Lightweight World Champion Boxer is born. Record: 23-0 (13).
Best wins: Phillip Holiday; Manuel Gonzalez. He lives in Los
Angeles, California, USA. (mn-ring)
1984
Soul singer Janet Jackson announces that she had married James
DeBarge. It was all over by 1995. (mn-jt)
2000
'Sweet'
James Epps,
soul singer with the Ric-Tic/Motown/Westbound group the
Fantastic Four dies from heart attack. Detroit R&B and soul group
the Fantastic Four formed in 1965. "Sweet" James Epps,
Ralph and Joseph Pruitt, and Wallace Childs were the original
members. Childs and Ralph Pruitt later departed, and were replaced by
Cleveland Horne and Ernest Newsome. Their first single on Ric-Tic,
"The Whole World Is a Stage," was their lone huge hit,
peaking at number 6 on the R&B charts in 1967. The next release,
"You Gave Me Something (And Everything's Alright)," reached
number 12 that same year. Motown eventually purchased Ric-Tic, and
they had another Top 20 R&B hit with "I Love You Madly,"
which came out in 1968 and was also issued on Soul. They enjoyed
renewed appeal during the disco era with some singles on Westbound
that were moderately successful, among them "Alvin Stone (The
Birth & Death of a Gangster)" and "I Got to Have Your
Love." Dennis Coffey produced "B.Y.O.F. (Bring Your Own
Funk)" in 1979, but didn't have much luck with it. the Fantastic
Four have remained active, and released "Working on a Building
of Love" in 1990 for Britian's Motorcity label. In 2000,
however, the Fantastic Four lost one of its long-time members,
Cleveland Horne when he suffered a heart attack and died on April 13,
2000. (i-t-b/mn/Ron Wynn)
2008
Richard
"Popcorn" Wylie
dies. b. Richard Wayne Wylie, 6th June 1939, Detroit, Michigan,
U.S.A. d. 7th September 2008, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Pianist and
producer Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie has passed away. He was 69. Richard
worked with The Funk Brothers, Barrett Strong (on 'Money'), The
Miracles (on 'Shop Around') and The Marvelettes (on 'Please Mr.
Postman'). Born in Detroit, he put together his first group at high
school, along with James Jamerson and Clifford Mack. He recorded his
first song for Ed and JoAnne in March 1964, and joined Motown Records
in 1959, through his friendship with Robert Bateman, and took the
first Motown Reviews on the road as bandleader. At Motown he released
'Shimmy Gully', one of the earliest Motown releases. His group,
Popcorn and The Mohawks, had three releases on the Motown label in
1961. Richard left Motown in 1962 and worked as a freelancer at the
Correc-tone and Continental imprints and signed with Epic Records. At
Epic he made his debut with 'Come to Me', followed a year later by
the song 'Brand New Man' and 'Head Over Heels in Love'. At the Golden
World imprint he worked on some songs for the Reflections. Whilst a
songwriter, producer and session player for the small Detroit labels
SonBert and Ric-Tic. In 1966 he formed his own label, Pameline,
releasing songs for the Detroit Executives, including the 1967
Northern soul evergreen 'The Cool-Off'. Richard Popcorn Wylie's
Northern Soul output featured recordings for Carl Carlton ('Nothing
No Sweeter Than Love'), the Debonaires ('Eenie Meenie') and Stewart
Ames ('King For A Day' / 'Angelina'). In 1971 Richard signed with
Motown's Soul subsidiary to record 'Funky Rubber Band'. The single
remained unreleased until 1975 and became a U.K. club favourite.
Richard recorded two more 1975 singles on ABC, namely 'Lost Time' and
'Georgia's After Hours' as a solo artist. Later he was to record for
Ian Levine's Motorcity imprint during the early 1990's, releasing
'See This Man In Love'. (soulwalking.co.uk)
8th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
109: MARTIN
LUTHER KING (1929-1968)
1958
David
Lewis soul
singer with Atlantic Starr born.Atlantic Starr was among the top
urban contemporary acts of the '80s and fared well in the adult
contemporary market as well, but their roots were '70s soul and funk.
The East Coast outfit was formed in White Plains, NY, in 1976. (mn-jt)
1928
Jackie
Lee soul
singer and member of Hollywood Flames born. L.A. R&B legend
Jackie Lee's career was intrinsically connected to two other L.A.
vocalists in particular, Bobby Byrd (aka Bobby Day) and Bobby Relf,
but his biggest solo success was recorded without help from either
one. During the early to mid-'60s, he recorded solo R&B tracks
under a various names, including Jay Dee, Earl Cosby, Chip Nelson,
and finally, as Jackie Lee. It was under this name that Nelson scored
his biggest solo hit with the popular R&B dance number "The
Duck," waxed in 1965 for Mirwood Records. (mn-jt/Bryan Thomas)
1965
Dorothy Dandridge,
nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Carmen Jones,
dies. Dorothy Dandridge was born November 9,1923 in Ohio. She was
very talented as a small child,and her parents decided on a career in
show buisiness for her at an early age. After moving to Hollywood
Dorothy soon landed her first role in the Marx Bros. film "A Day
At The Races" in which she had a small role. Despite the racial
adversities in Hollywood at that time Dorothy still managed to find
work; but she did not want to be stereotyped. She was established as
a credible actress in her next role in 1940 in "Four Shall
Die". She had to rely on her talents as a singer to support
herself when she was not making films. Descrimination followed her
career in Hollywood ,but she was the first Black-American to be
nominated for the role of Best Actress in a motion picture in 1954,
but lost the award to Grace Kelly. Her first husband was the dancer
Harold Nicholas, of the Nicholas Bros. Before her movie career she
was also a member of the singing group " the Dandridge
Sisters", with her sister Vivian, and a childhood friend .
"Carmen Jones " is considered to be her best film. She also
had great roles in "Porgy and Bess", "Bright Road"
and "Island In The Sun". Her life was tragic from her
childhood because of child abuse and cruelty;to her adulthood,where
she succumed to alcoholism;and became addicted to sleeping pills.Sept
8 1965 she died as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills. One of
the most beautiful women in Hollywood rose from poverty to success ,
but could not find happiness. (mn)
1965
M.C. Shan,
wise guy rapper from Brooklyn, real name Shawn Moltke, born.
According to legend, MC Shan (b. Shawn Moltke) got his big break in
1983 when the future boss of Cold Chillin' Records caught Shan trying
to steal his car. Although the fact that old-school super-producer
Marley Marl was Shan's cousin probably didn't hurt either, Shan took
advantage of the opportunity to become a member of Marl's Juice Crew
All-Stars. After several singles (including the old-school classic
"The Bridge"), his 1987 album debut Down By Law established
a b-boy persona over tracks produced by his cousin. The same held for
the 1988 follow-up, Born to Be Wild; on 1990's Play It Again, Shan,
he opted for a more mature outlook and a new producer, but it proved
to be his final effort. Though he moved into production work, he made
a return on "Da Bridge 2001," from Queensbridge's Finest, a
2000 LP released by Nas. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide (mn-ms)
1968
The first Miss Black America, Sandra Williams, is crowned.
1972
The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival dedicated to the memory of
R&B pianist Otis Spann takes place who had died in 1970 aged 30.
Over 15,000 people attended the festival. (mn-jt)
1981
Roy Wilkins,
executive director of the NAACP, dies. One of the most influential
of civil rights activists and a steady voice for non-violence,
Wilkins served a director of the National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured People from 1955 to 1977. At the time of his
death he was the last survivor of the civil rights leaders of the
1950s and 1960s, having outlived Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney
Young, Malcolm X, and A. Philip Randolph. (mn-jc-ss-tr-iokts)
9th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
110: EDWARD
W. BROOKE (1919- )
1806
Sarah H. Mapps Douglass,
abolitionist, born. Understanding the past is often key to changing
the present. After 165 years the legacy of Sarah Mapps Douglass,
African American scholar, educator, abolitionist, artist and faithful
attender of Quaker meeting has much to say to Friends in the 21st
century, especially those concerned with racism and the lack of
racial diversity within the Religious Society of Friends. In the
foreword Vanessa Julye places the lessons from Sarah Mapps Douglass'
life in a vivid and painful contemporary context. In the biography
that follows Margaret Hope Bacon explores Sarah's life. (tr-iokts)
1915
Dr. Carter G. Woodson founds the association for the study of Negro
Life and History.
1927
Elvin Jones,
jazz drummer, born in Pontiac, Michigan, USA. Elvin Jones already
was taking jazz drumming to new dimensions when he arrived in New
York in the 1950s. By the time he joined the John Coltrane quartet in
1960, Jones had developed an explosive style that would transform
jazz and prefigure advances in fusion, rock and funk. After leaving
Coltrane in 1966, Jones went on to lead a number of outstanding
groups. Versions of his 'Jazz Machine' have included New Orleans
stalwarts Nicholas Payton, Greg Tardy and Delfeayo Marsalis. Jones
died May 18/2004 of heart failure after a long illness. He was 76 (mn-cl)
1934
Sonia
Sanchez born.
Sonia is a prolific writer, serious, and original. Her poems depict
the struggles between black people and white people, between men and
women, and between cultures. She is innovative in her use of language
and structure, sometimes using Black speech in her poetry. She too
has a brilliant sense of history, and a vision of her people being
truly free. "right on: white america" is one of her best
poems. America, she writes, was once 'a pio/neer land', but it had
systematically eliminated through intolerance all those that it saw
different. Thus, "there ain't ./no mo/ indians', 'no mo
real/white allamerican/bad/guys. The only ones left now are the black
people and they had better 'check out', for the guns and shells are
falling to decimate them and a bleak future awaits them unless they
do something about it. (tr-bl)
1944
Tommy
Tate
soul singer born in Homestead, Florida, USA. Tate is a consistent, if
unspectacular, Southern soul wailer. He debuted on Rise in 1964, and
continued recording for Okeh, Verve, and Big Ten before joining the
Nightingales at Stax in 1970. He returned to the solo scene a couple
of years later, recording for Koko. He had a Top 30 R&B single
with "School of Love" in 1972, and it has been his only
substantial hit. But Tate has kept plugging, working in Mississippi
clubs and recording for Juana, Sundance, and other independents. His
most recent release was Love Me Now for Ichiban's subsidiary label
Urgent in 1992. (Ron Wynn-mn-rt)
1945
Dee Dee
Sharp
soul singer, born Dionne LaRue in Philadelphia, USA. R&B singer
who began her career recording back-up vocals in 1961. In 1962 she
began a string of very successful Hot 100 Top 10 hits: "Slow
Twistin'" (with Chubby Checker) (#3), "Mashed Potato
Time" (#2), "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" (#9),
"Ride!" (#5) and "Do the Bird" (#10). In 1967 she
married record producer Kenny Gamble and has since recorded under the
name Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble. She had a brief career resurgence during
the disco era: as a member of the Philadelphia International All
Stars (which also included Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass,
The O'Jays and Archie Bell) she had a minor hit with "Let's
Clean Up the Ghetto." In 1981 she spent four weeks at #1 on the
Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Breaking and Entering"
/ "Easy Money," from her album Dee Dee. (mn-wickpedia)
1941
Otis
Redding,
dubbed 'The King of Soul Music' born in Dawson, Georgia, USA. Son of
a Baptist minister, he assimilated gospel music during his childhood
and soon became interested in jump blues and R&B. After
resettling in Macon, he became infatuated with local luminary Little
Richard, and began singing on a full-time basis. Dies just as his
career was taking off. Biggest hit Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
was posthumously. (d.10/12/68 in plane crash). (mn-cl)
1942
Luther
Simmons Jr.,
singer with Main Ingredient born. The Main Ingredient toiled in
obscurity for the better part of the '60s before making it big as a
sweet, romantic soul outfit with a particular flair for ballads.
Paced by the impassioned lead vocals of Cuba Gooding during their
prime hitmaking years, the Ingredient is best remembered for their
1972 classic "Everybody Plays the Fool," but released a
number of other fine singles, mostly during the first half of the
'70s. The group was formed in Harlem in 1964 as a trio called the
Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr.,
and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for
Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to
the Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they
changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the
Main Ingredient. (mn-jt-mp3.com)
1947
John
Roy Lynch,
first African American to deliver the keynote address at a Republican
National Convention (1864), is born. (tr-iokts)
1958
Race riots broke out in London's Notting Hill Gate.
TV crews were accused of encouraging the rioting. In
Victorian times, Notting Hill was a rough working class area and by
the 1950s the area had become synonymous with slum landlords and
inner city deprivation. In 1958, it was the scene of race riots after
problematic relations between the newly arrived black community and
continuing harassment from the Teddy Boys of the fascist British
Union. A second riot during the famous Notting Hill Carnival of 1976,
inspiring the Clash's punk anthem, 'White Riot'. The past 30 years
have seen a steady northwards swarm of gentrification, with estate
agents coining names like 'Hillgate village' for previously working
class neighbourhoods, sending property prices rocketing. (mn-ttxt-urban75.org)
1985Handsworth
Riots shocked the nation. At
approximately 5pm on Monday, a Rastafarian man is arrested near the
Acapulco Cafe, Lozells Road for a traffic offence. Very soon a crowd
consisting of African Caribbean, Asian and British people ask the
police to let the man go - the police refuse this request and the
situation quickly escalates into a riot. By 7.30pm The Villa Cross
Bingo Hall and Social Club has been firebombed, firemen try and put
out the flames, the crowd say "let it burn". Between 8pm
and midnight cars are set alight, shops looted, residents are forced
to leave their homes. 11.30pm police take back control of Lozells Rd
after hours of looting and burning. What is now known as the
Handsworth Riots lasted for two days. In the aftermath, well over
1500 police officers were drafted into the area and 50 shops were
either burnt or looted. Damage to property was estimated at hundreds
of thousands of pounds, 35 people were injured or hospitalised, 2
people unaccounted for and tragically 2 people lost their lives. A
total of 7.5 Millions of pounds worth of damage was caused by the
rioters. PCRL was permanently on-air calling for calm in the
black/Asian community. It had a knock-on affect all over the
city. Most shops felt forced to have roller blinds fitted that now
twenty-years later, make the urban shopping erea's look unsightly
when the shops are close. (vist ommgallery.net for Pogus
Ceasar's photos)
10th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
111: MALCOLM
X (1925-1965)
1925
Roy Brown,
R&B singer/pianio player, born, New Orleans, La, USA. (Dies May
25, 1981, Los Angeles, Calif, USA. Born in the Crescent City, Brown
grew up all over the place: Eunice, LA (where he sang in church and
worked in the sugarcane fields); Houston, TX; and finally Los Angeles
by age 17. Back then, Bing Crosby was Brown's favorite singer -- but
a nine-month stint at a Shreveport, LA, nightclub exposed him to the
blues for the first time. He conjured up "Good Rockin'
Tonight" while fronting a band in Galveston, TX. Ironically,
Harris wanted no part of the song when Brown first tried to hand it
to him. When pianist Cecil Gant heard Brown's knockout rendition of
the tune in New Orleans, he had Brown sing it over the phone to a
sleepy DeLuxe boss, Jules Braun, in the wee hours of the morning.
Though Brown's original waxing (with Bob Ogden's band in support) was
a solid hit, Harris' cover beat him out for top chart honors. (mn-rs-mp3.net)
1961
Jomo Kenyatta returns to Kenya from exile, during which he had been
elected president of the Kenya National African Union. Born to a
Kikuyu peasant family about the year 1897, he was educated at a
mission school. He was a Pan-Africanist radical living in Britain in
the 30's, Special Branch had files on him! (tr-iokts-pf)
1940
Roy Ayres
jazz vibraphone player born in Los Angeles, California. He reached
his peak of commercial success during the mid-70s and early 80s. He
played piano as a child took an interest in vibes after meeting
Lionel Hampton. In high school Ayres' formed his first group, the
Latin Lyrics, and in the early 60s began working professionally with
flutist/saxophonist Curtis Edward Amy. (mn-cl)
1969
Big
Daddy Kane,
smooth operator rapper from Brooklyn, real name Antonio Hardy is born
today. While he slips in and out of an array of varied styles-romeo,
philosopher, street thug-Kane always maintains his image of a
forceful black male. In 1988, Billboard named Kane "rap's most
important artist" and The New York Times described a performance
at Harlem's Apollo Theatre as "meaningful, urgent, and convinced
of its authority .. electrifying to the audience." (mn-ms)
11th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
LEADERS/SPOKESMEN
112:
ROBERT C. WEAVER (1907- )
Rankin'
Festus,
PCRL presenter birthday.
Nyahbinghi
Iladay. Ethiopian New Year. (tr)
1721
Angelo
Soliman,
African warrior in the Holy Roman Empire, born. Not only the life of
Angelo Soliman was exotic. Born in Nigeria and brought to Viennaise
society as the first black person he lived in aristocratic comfort
with a huge circle of friends. in this small model the coexistence of
white and black did work out not only theoretical. some of his
"friends" endeavored to persuade soleman to leave his mark
after death in the form of his skin for public as racist theories
became modern just around that time, he agreed. So he was padded
after his death in 1796 and for almost ten years a grotesque exhibit
at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien" before he and his two
padded collegues, fürst lobkowitz and fürst liechtenstein,
got their final cremation at a fire in 1806. (mn)
1740
The first mention of an African American doctor or dentist in
the colonies is made in the 'Pennsylvania Gazette'. (tr-iokts)
1902
Barbecue
Bob,
blues guitarist/singer, born, Robert Hicks, Walnut Grove, Ga, USA.
Died October 21, 1931, Lithonia, Ga, USA. Barbecue Bob was the name
given by Columbia Records talent scout Don Hornsby to Atlanta blues
singer Robert Hicks. Hicks is widely credited as being the singer who
more than any helped to popularize Atlanta blues in its formative
period. Born to a family of sharecroppers in Walnut Grove, GA, Robert
Hicks and his brother, Charley "Lincoln" Hicks relocated
with them to Newton County. There the Hicks brothers came in contact
with Savannah "Dip" Weaver and her son, Curley Weaver. With
the Weavers, the Hicks boys learned to play guitar and sing. Another
local kid, Eddie Mapp, arrived in the area around 1922 and began to
play harmonica with Robert and Charley Hicks and Curley Weaver. For
several years in the early to mid-'20s, this group, or some group
derived from this nucleus of musicians, would play parties and dances
all around Atlanta and the surrounding territory (mn-rs-mp3.net)
1987
Peter
Tosh,
guitarist and founder member of the seminal reggae group, The
Wailers, was murdered by burglars at his home in Jamaica just a month
before his 43rd birthday. When he quit the Wailers group in 1973 the
prospect of him going solo and giving the free rein to his talent,
temperament and commitment to social justice was an exciting one. The
speak softly-and-carry-a-big-stick approach favoured by Marley was
never going to work for a man such as Tosh. Standing six foot seven
inches tall, a martial arts master and given to unreasonable displays
of pique* (*wounding of pride). Tosh was a man of direct action. (jt-lb-mn-tr)
2001
Terrorist
attacks in America
- 2,720 dead, 2,337 injured. The attacks were a series of coordinated
attacks carried out against the United States started early on a
Tuesday morning. According to the official 9/11 Commission Report,
nineteen men affiliated with al-Qaeda, a network of militant Islamist
terrorist organizations, hijacked four American airliners. Two were
crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City —
one into each of the two tallest towers, about 17 minutes apart
— shortly after which both towers collapsed. The third aircraft
crashed into the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters, the
Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed
into a rural field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania near Shanksville
following passenger resistance. The 9/11 Commission reports that
these terrorists turned the hijacked planes into the largest suicide
bombs in history and the most lethal terrorist acts ever carried out
in the United States. The September 11th attacks are arguably the
most significant events to have occurred so far in the 21st century
in terms of the profound economic, social, cultural and military
effects that followed in the United States and many parts of the
world. (wickpedia-mn)
2007
Willie
'Tee'
[Turbington] dies. He was 63. Willie passed away from colon cancer.
His mid-'60s soul sides are acknowledged as classics on the
Carolinas' beach music circuit. Willie Tee was playing the piano at
the age of three, inspired by his older brother Earl's work with the
saxophone and flute. In 1952, the Turbinton family relocated to the
city's Calliope Street housing projects. Whilst at school, Willie's
music teacher, Harold Battiste, recruited Turbinton to his jazz combo
the AFO Band (All for One). With the band, he recorded his 1962 debut
single, 'Always Accused'. On leaving AFO, Willie formed the Souls
with bassist George Davis and drummer David Lee. Willie signed with
the Nola imprint, a new label formed by his cousin, Ulis Gaines,
journalist Clint Scott, and producer/arranger Wardell Quezergue. His
1965 Nola debut, 'Teasin' You,' not only became the label's first
local hit, but was recorded by blue-eyed soul singers the Righteous
Brothers. Atlantic licensed his original for national distribution,
flipped by 'Walking up a One-Way Street'. This was followed by 'Thank
You John' and 'I Want Somebody (To Show Me the Way Back Home)'.
Atlantic then released Tee from his contract, and his next single,
'Please Don't Go,' appeared on Nola's Hot-Line subsidiary. In 1968
Nola folded and Willie co-founded Gatur Records, releasing 'I Peeped
Your Hole Card'. In 1969 Willie co-wrote Margie Joseph's 'One More
Chance' for the Stax subsidiary Volt. Willie's first-ever LP, 'I'm
Only a Man', appeared in 1970 on Capitol, however the Gatur imprint
saw a new lease of life, with Willie releasing 'The Man That I Am.'
Follow up songs were 'Your Love and My Love Together' and the
instrumental 'Swivel Your Hips'. In 1973, Willie was approached to
assemble a backing band for a session headlined by the Wild
Magnolias. The resulting LP was 1973's 'The Wild Magnolias'. In 1976,
Willie Tee signed with United Artists to release his second LP,
'Anticipation'. In the 1980's, he was rediscovered by the DJs on the
Northern soul club scene, and in the mid-'90s began travelling,
including an appearance at London's Jazz Café in Camden Town.
He was also courted by the hip-hop community, with the Gaturs'
'Concentrate' sampled by Sean 'Puffy' Combs and the Wild Magnolias'
'Smoke My Peace Pipe' sampled by the Geto Boys. Willie Tee's classic Nola/Atlantic
sides were finally combined in 2002 for the Night Train compilation
Teasin' You. (soulwalking)
12th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION
STARTS 113: WILLIAM
SCARBOROUGH (1852-1926)
National
Revolution Day-Ethiopia
1913
Jesse
Owens,
Track and field star is born in Oakville, Ala., USA. World
record-holder Jesse Owens had one qualifying jump left at the 1936
Olympic Games in Berlin. He had fouled on four of his first five
tries. And he was angry because Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler, with his
misguided notions of Aryan supremacy, had just delivered an insult by
departing from the stadium as Owens began his jumps. Suddenly,
quietly, his chief rival, German long jumper Luz Long, said to Owens,
"...remeasure your steps... take off six inches behind the foul
board." Thus was an unlikely friendship born between an
African-American and a German. And thus was Jesse Owens inspired to
capture an unprecedented four Olympic gold medals with record
performances in the long jump, the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the
400-meter relay. Positive experiences such as the Olympic Games
revelation by Luz, seemed to balance the racial-prejudice negatives
in Jesse Owens' life as an African American, leading too his moderate
ideology and his admiration of the principles and practices of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Owens parlayed his international track-star
reputation into jobs helping his people--such as national director of
physical education for African-Americans with the Office of Civilian
Defense (1940-42), which he called"the most gratifying work I've
ever done."" But for all his desire to help others, Jesse
Owens was largely a self-made man. A frail,, sickly child, he
developed into a strong runner, winning national high school titles
inn three events. Dozens of colleges pursued Owens, but he chose to
go to Ohio State,, where he had to work his way through school. Owens
stunned the nation in 1935 when he set three world records and
equaled another in one day, running a 20.3-second 220-yard dash, 22.6
in the 220-yard low hurdles, a record-tying 9.4-second 100 yard dash,
and long-jumping 26'-8-1/4... a mark that was not surpassed for 25
years.. And amid all his deserved adulation, Jesse Owens maintained
his perspective. "Life,"" he said, "is the real
Olympics." (tr-iokts)
1944
Barry White
soul singer/songwriter/producer/keyboards born in Galveston Texas,
USA. 14 UK hits between 1973-79 , also 100 gold albums and 40
platinum albums around the world. Dies 2004 (mn)
1958
Gangs
Terrorise Negroes.
- read the front-page headline on the Paddington Mercury. - Churches
ask governments to take action in race clashes. Renewed racial
violence in Paddington over the week-end on Saturday rioters battled
with scores of police in the Harrow Road. The mobs were angry that
their coloured prey had stayed indoors. (mn)
1992
Dr. Mae Jemison is the first black American woman in space. Mae
Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama on October 17, 1956. She was the
youngest of three children. The Jemison family moved to Chicago when
Mae was three. Mae became interested in science when she was very
young. She was an excellent student. By the age of sixteen she had
received a scholarship to attend Stanford University. Mae Jemison
received a degree in chemical engineering in 1977. She received a
Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981. NASA selected Dr. Jemison for
astronaut training in 1987. Her first mission was aboard the Shuttle
Endeavour in September of 1992. Dr. Jemison was Science Mission
Specialist on the flight. When the Endeavour blasted into orbit, Dr.
Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to enter space.
Dr. Jemison is an excellent jazz dancer. She is also interested in
the theater. Some of her other hobbies are photography, skiing and
studying foreign languages. In 1993, Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA.
She now works on projects to advance technology in developing
countries. She is also a professor at Dartmouth College. She also
appered in an episode of Star Trek:The Next Generation. (mn-nasa)
1977
Steve Biko,
south African political activist dies in detention (from head
injuries) in south Africa. Biko was held in prison for twenty-four
days were he was interrogated, starved, and brutally beaten. It
wasn’t until Biko was laying unconscious, that the doctors
suggested that he be transported to Pretoria for medical treatment,
740 miles away. On September 12, 1977, Biko became the forty-first
person in South Africa to die while being held in the custody of the
South African Police. "Blacks no longer seek to reform the
system because so doing implies acceptance of the major points around
which the system revolves. Blacks are out to completely transform the
system and to make of it what they wish." - STEVE BIKO (mn-drum)
1998
Fay Thompson a Birmingham busness woman raises £744.36p for
OSCAR Sickle Cell with a Walkathon.
2007
Bobby
Byrd,
singer dies from cancer, aged 73 in Loganville, Georgia, U.S.A. Right-hand
man to James Brown on/off for 50 years. Bobby Byrd formed the Gospel
Starlighters in the late 50's. He also played in the Gospel group the
3 Swanee's with James Brown and Johnny Terry. Bobby met James in
Toccoa, where he was serving time in a juvenile facility for
burglary. James pitched for the prison baseball team, and his team
played against Mr. Byrd's team. During the early '50s, Bobby and his
family sponsored James Brown's parole from prison. Bobby recorded
with Earl Nelson as Bob And Earl before forming the group The Avons,
a band later to enlist James Brown upon his release from prison. The
Avons then changed their name to The Flames, who became James Brown
And The Famous Flames during the '60's. Bobby's first hit came for
the Smash imprint, a duet with Anna King entitled 'Baby Baby Baby',
which made number 52 in Billboard's soul chart in 1964. The following
year 'We Are In Love' reached number 14 in the same chart.Bobby later
enjoyed a further Top 20 hit, 'I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)',
for King Records. His voice can later be heard on James Brown's 'Get
Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine.' Bobby's Seventies output was
fairly low key, however his career enjoyed a renaissance with the
onset of sampling, mainly pioneered by the hip hop artists. The most
famous example was Eric B And Rakim's 1987 single 'I Know You Got
Soul', which sampled Byrd's 1971 track of the same title.Bobby left
the James Brown line up in 1973 and recorded and performed regularly
(particularly in Europe). His first studio album since 1970 was
released in 1994, entitled 'On The Move'. Bobby embarked on several
concert tours with his wife, Vicki Anderson, and the family. As a
solo artist Bobby is probably best remembered for the, previously
mentioned, James Brown produced, 'I Know You Got Soul' (1971) and 'If
You Got A Love You Better Hold On To It' (1972), popular on the U.K.
'rare groove' scene in the mid-'80's. Bobby's daughter Bonnie Byrd
scored an R & B hit with the tune 'Good Girl' in the late 1980's.
He is also the stepfather of the U.K. based soul singer Carleen
Anderson. Bobby sang at James Brown's 2006 funeral along with his
wife, Vicki Anderson, who was also in James' touring band. Bobby
performed his final show with the Soulpower Allstars in July 2005 at
the Supernatural Festival in Holland.Bobby was scheduled to appear at
another show on September 29th in Belgrade, Serbia. Following Bobby's
passing, Mrs. Vicki Anderson said that of her husband's songs,
"Baby, I Love You" was her favorite.'That was the first
song that he wrote for me,' said Vicki. (soulwalking)
13th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
114: WILLIAM
J. SIMMONS (1849-1890)
1886 Alain
Le Roy Locke,
philosopher and Rhodes scholar, born in Philadelphia, Pa. Locke was
an influential teacher, editor, and writer and the first
Africa-American to attend Oxford University as Rhodes Scholar
(B.Litt.,1910). After studying at the University of Berlin he took up
a teaching post at Howard University in 1912. He remained there until
his death. (mn-ss)
1898
Black Invention:Cap
for bottles and jars, patented by A.E. Longand and A.A. Jones. (sc)
1922
Charles
Brown,
blues singer, born Texas City, Texas, USA. How many blues artists
remained at the absolute top of their game after more than a
half-century of performing? One immediately leaps to mind: Charles
Brown. His incredible piano skills and laid-back vocal delivery
remained every bit as mesmerizing at the end of his life as they were
way back in 1945, when his groundbreaking waxing of "Drifting
Blues" with guitarist Johnny Moore's Three Blazers invented an
entirely new blues genre for sophisticated postwar revelers: an ultra-mellow,
jazz-inflected sound perfect for sipping a late-night libation in
some hip after-hours joint. Brown's smooth trio format was
tremendously influential to a host of high-profile disciples —
Ray Charles, Amos Milburn, and Floyd Dixon, for starters. (mn-rs)
1940
Jimmy
James,
reggae/soul artiste born Michael James in the USA, but raised in
Jamaica. He started performing American soul music in the late '50s.
As a solo artist he notched two number one records in Jamaica as
Jimmy James on Tip Top Records: "Bewildered and Blue," and
"Come to Me Softly" (the latter reached number 70 in
States). After the two solo smashes, one of Jamaica's most popular
bands, the Vagabonds, approached him; they needed a lead singer and
Jimmy was hot. James agreed to work with the band, and Jimmy James
& the Vagabonds formed in 1960. They found steady work at the
Marquee Club in London, where the British clamored to hear their bag
of American soul music. The Northern soul boom was still seeding, and
American soul singers rarely came to England, so Jimmy James &
the Vagabonds filled a void. (mn-cl-ah)
1956
Joni Sledgesoul
singer with Sister Sledge born in Philadelphia. The girls had a run
of hits between 1977-79 produced by Niles Rogers and Bernard Edwards
of the group Chic. (mn-jt)
1984 Titus
Turner,
soul singer & writer dies. Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1933.
Made his first records for Okeh in 1951, his first big success came
in 1955 when Little Willie John had a Top 10 R&B hit with the
Turner composition All Around The World; the song was revived as
Grits Ain't Groceries by Little Milton in 1969. (mn-cl)
1997
Footballer Ian Wright receives a Carling N0.1 award after a week when
he breaks the hat-trick record by scoring 5 goals in 7 days,
also
breaking the 178 goals record. (mn)
14th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
115: BOOKER
T. WASHINGTON (1856-1915)
1912 Archibald,
a.k.a Archie Boy, blues piano player, born Leon Gross, New Orleans,
USA. (Died January 8, 1973, New Orleans). (mn-sr)
1921
Constance
Baker Motley,
former U.S. Cabinet member, born in New Haven, Connecticut. She
attended Fisk University but in 1942 transferred to NYU's Washington
Square College where she earned a bachelors degree in economics.
She attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1946. Following
graduation from Columbia, Constance Baker began her legal career
working for the chief counsel for the NAACP's Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Thurgood Marshall, in the New York office. She
married Joel Wilson Motley in 1949. From her position with the NAACP
LDF, where she eventually became the LDF's Associate Counsel (LDF's
principal trial attorney), Motley participated in most of the
important Civil Rights cases from 1945 to 1965, including Brown v.
Board of Education and the case of Meredith v. Fair, 298 F.2d 696
(5th Cir. 1962) in which she was lead counsel for James Meredith in
forcing integration of the University of Mississippi. Motley pursued
a short political career, becoming in 1964, the first
African-American woman elected to the New York State Senate. In 1966
she became the first African-American woman to be a federal judge
when President Johnson appointed her to the federal district court
for the Southern District Court of New York. She was appointed chief
judge of the SDNY in 1982, and in 1986 took the status of senior
judge. (mn)
1924
Davidson Nicol,
doctor/diplomat and scholar is born. He attends Christ's collage in
Cambridge and was well known for his work on insulin Nicol gained MD
in 1956 and PhD in 1958 and died 20.09.94.
1955
Richard Penniman, better known as Little Richard, completed
his first two-day recording session for Hollywood-based Specialty
Records recording songs like Tootie Frutti; Long Tall Sally. (mn-jt)
1983
[Amy
Jade Winehouse]
born, she is an English soul, jazz, and R&B singer and
songwriter. Winehouse's debut album, Frank (released in 2003) was
nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 album Back to Black led to
six Grammy Award nominations including the "Big Four": Best
New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the
Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British
Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album.
She has won the Ivor Novello Award twice, among other prestigious
distinctions. Winehouse has created media buzz apart from her
singing. Her unique style, most notably her former signature beehive
hairstyle, has spawned imitators and been the muse for fashion
designers, most notably Karl Lagerfeld. The singer's (and her
husband's) struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as
self-destructive behaviour, became regular tabloid news in 2007. They
have also been plagued by legal troubles that have led to the
cancellation of several tour dates. (wikipedia)
1991
The South African government, A.N.C. and The Inkhata Freedom Party
signed a peace accord to end factional violence in the townships.(mn)
1997
Athlete Carl Lewis retires after 20 years in sport. Born Fredrick
Calton in 1961, known for several years as the fastest man in the
world for his records in the 100-meter dash - his personal best came
in 1991 with 9.86 seconds - Lewis had won attention while still a
student at Houston University. In 1984, at the Los Angeles Olympics,
Lewis became the first athlete since Jesse Owens to win four gold
medals in one Olympics. Considered as the finest track and field
athletes of all time. (mn-ss)
15th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
116:
WILLIAM EDWARD DU BOIS
1928
Cannonball Adderly,
jazz man born Julian Edwin Adderly in Tampa, Florida, USA. (Died
August 1, 1975). He was one of the great saxophonists of his
generation. His fiery, blues-soaked interpretations of Charlie
Parker's alto legacy brought jazz to many people hitherto untouched
by it. (mn-jt)
1943
Paul Robeson in 296th performance of "Othello" at Shubert Theatre.
1956
Jaki
Grayam
soul singer born in Birmingham, England. Jacki sang at school before
taking a secretarial position. In the evenings she continued her
singing in a band called Ferrari before moving to the Medium Wave
Band. She was spotted there by Rian Freshwater, who managed David
Grant (ex-Lynx) and singer/producer Derrick Bramble formerly of
Heatwave who became her producer and songwriter. She signed to EMI,
who released her debut 45 What's The Name Of Your Game (1984). Best
remembered for hits Set Me Free and Mated. (mn-cl-jt)
1963
Four African American schoolgirls are killed in a bombing at
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ali., USA. (tr-iokts)
1983
Willie
Bobo
percussionist/singer dies. Born William Correa in New York's Spanish
Harlem, he recorded with Count Bassie, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader. He
was a pioneer of Latin jazz-fusion. (mn-jt-rt)
2008
[Jerry
Wexler]
producer dies. b. Gerald 'Jerry' Wexler, 10th January 1917, New York
City, New York State, U.S.A. d. 15th August 2008, Sarasota, Florida,
U.S.A. Music producer, Jerry Wexler, has died at his home in Siesta
Key, Florida, 15th August 2008, at the age of 91, from congestive
heart failure. His life support machine had been turned off after his
family were consulted. (soulwalkin.co.uk)
Arrow
- 'Special Soca Rumba' Uploaded
by mickeynold. - Watch
more music videos, in HD!2010. Arrow
dies. b. Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell, 16th November 1949,
Montserrat, West Indies. d. 15th September 2010, Montserrat, West
Indies. He suffered with complications from brain cancer. Arrow
recorded 'Hot, Hot, Hot' and 'Dance With Me, Woman'. Worked with his
brother, Justin Cassell. The
man often credited with taking soca global, Arrow, has died after
fighting cancer for some time. Outside the Caribbean, many know soca
music, a fast-paced cousin of calypso, through Arrow’s biggest
hit “Hot, Hot, Hot”, recorded in 1982. Sixty-year-old
Arrow, whose real name is Alphonsus Edmund Cassell, had been fighting
brain cancer for over a year and had been back and forth for
treatment in the US. However, upon returning home to his native
Montserrat, he fell ill recently with pneumonia and was hospitalised
in neighbouring Antigua. Arrow was known locally as a businessman as
well as an international soca star. He set up his own record label in
1973 and ran a shop on the remaining habitable part of Montserrat
after the volcano destroyed large parts of the island. His song
“Hot, Hot, Hot” became the biggest selling soca hit of all
time. Arrow had always stated how much he loved calypso, the
precursor for soca music. And he had named himself Arrow in honour of
calypso veteran Sparrow. Born and raised in Montserrat, Arrow grew up
in a musical family where both his older brothers had been Calypso
Kings of Montserrat, Hero, Justin Cassell and Young Challenger,
Lorenzo Castell. He first performed at age 10 at a concert at the
Montserrat Secondary School. He started singing calypso in 1967
taking the junior monarch title and four times the Monserrat crown. (soulwalking/bbc)
16th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
117: ARTHUR
SCHOMBURG (1874-1938)
1889
Claude
A. Barnett the
founder of the Associated Negro Press born in Stanford, Florida,
USA. Founded the Associated Negro Press (ANP) in March 1919 and
remained director during a time of great social change, retiring in
1964. After his retirement the ANP ceased to exist. The ANP provided
information of interest to black readers including news, opinion
columns, reviews of books, movies, and records as a wire service to
black newspapers. In addition to his work with the ANP, Barnett
served as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture,
participated in Republican Party Campaigns, the National Negro
Business League, and the United Negro College Fund. In addition, he
served on the boards of the Tuskegee Institute, American National Red
Cross, Provident Hospital, and other organizations. In 1934 he
married the well-known concert singer and actress, Etta Moten. (mn)
1925
B.B. King,
blues guitarist/singer born Riley B. King in Indianola, Miss., USA.
Since the late 1960s, when rock and pop audiences discovered him and
his refined, majestic brand of blues, guitarist and singer B.B. King
has been the music's most successful concert artist and it's most
consistently recognized ambassador. He single-handedly brought blues
from the fringe of the music spectrum into the mainstream. (mn-rs)
1926
Fred Below,
respected and most in-demand blues drummer in the 50s, born,
Chicago, Ill, USA. He created one of the music's most
often
heard backbeats. He attended DuSable high School, famous for number
of jazz musicians that had been students there, and later the Roy C.
Knack School Percussion. Influenced by Gene Krupa, Chick Webb, and
Buddy Rich, Below began his career as a jazz drummer. (Died
13/8/88,Chicago, Ill, USA). (mn-rs)
1935
Billy Boy Arnold,
journeyman harp player, born in Chicago, Ill, USA. A disciple Of
JOHN LEE "SONNY BOY" WILLIAMSON, Billy Boy Arnold is a
journeyman harp player and vocalist whose best recordings were made
for Vee Jay Records in the mid 1950s. As a youth, Arnold copiously
imitated Williamson's harp style. Later, however, after also being
influenced By LITTLE WALTER and JUNIOR WELLS. Arnold developed
Score of original harp sounds, Although he never really strayed too
far from his Sonny Boy roots. (mn-rs)
1946
Pauline Henriques and Connie Smith become the first black actresses
to appear on British television when they acted in All God's
Chillun Got Wings, Eugene O'Neills controversial American stage
drama about mixed marriage. ven before its May 1924 premiere, the
play made headlines. Reporting that a white actress would appear
alongside a black actor -- and that she would kiss his hand
--newspapers warned of race riots. Love between people of different
races was taboo in 1920s America. Dozens of states prohibited
interracial marriage and enforced racial discrimination with harsh
Jim Crow laws, and the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise in the South.
Over four decades would pass before the Supreme Court would rule that
state laws against interracial marriages were unconstitutional. Those
who objected to what they heard about O'Neill's new drama flooded the
Provincetown Players with threats and letters of protest.
Sensationalist newspapers like the New York American reported that
the Mayor's office might stop the production for fear of "race
strife". But the city couldn't force a cancellation in a
subscription theater, which was a private club. O'Neill defended his
play, asking people to read it and not the newspapers. He also
published an article by the well-known black intellectual, W.E.B. Du
Bois; the full text of the Negro spiritual that he used for the
play's title; and a poem by one of the leading lights of the Harlem
Renaissance, Langston Hughes, among other things, in the playbill.
Despite the newspapers' predictions, the play ran without incident.
Critics gave it mostly lukewarm reviews. (mn-sb)
1953
Earl
Klugh,
jazz guitar player born in Detroit, Earl picked up his first guitar
at the age three. When he was seventeen he left home to tour with
George Benson, eventually leaving to join Chick Corea's Return For
Forever. He began his solo career with Blue Note Records in the mid
'70s, early albums being Living Inside Your Love (1976), including 'I
Heard It Through The Grapevine', and the Grusin/Rosen produced Finger
Paintings (1977). Switching to United Artists, Earl scored with three
jazz funk albums during 1980, Dream Come True, One On 0ne with Bob
James (for Tappan Zee Records) and the soundtrack How To Beat and The
High Cost Of Living with Hubert Laws (for CBS). In 1983 he returned
with a further soundtrack for Capitol, where he also delivered
Wishful Thinking (1984), Key Notes (1985) and Two Of A Kind with Bob
James (1985). In 1985 he switched to Warner Brothers where his albums
have included Soda Fountain Shuffle (1985), Life Stories (1986),
Collaboration with George Benson (1987), and Midnight ln Sac Juan
(1991). (mn-jt)
1956
Charles
Fearing,
soul group member of Raydio born. Instigated by Ray Parker Jr., in
1977, Raydio featured the vocals of Arnell Carmichael and Jerry
Knight on the group's 1978 UK hits 'Jack And Jill' (Top 20)and 'ls
This love Thing' (Top 30) through to 'Two Places At The Time' in
1980, all for the Arista label. In 1981 Ray Parker decided to sing
lead vocals himself, and, remaining with Arista, dissolved Raydio to
record under his own name. (mn-jt)
1958
Rodney
Franklin,
jazz/soul keyboard player born in Berkeley, California, in 1958.
Rodney was taking jazz piano lessons by the age of six at Washington
Elementary School. His Administrator at the school was Dr Herb Wong,
a noted jazz journalist, DJ and teacher. Prior to signing with CBS in
1978, Rodney worked extensively with John Handy in San Francisco, and
toured with Bill Summers, Freddie Hubbard and Marlena Shaw. His debut
CBS album was In The Centre (1978), an Underground jazz fusion album
(not released in the UK) featuring 'On The Path' and 'Like The Music
Make It Hot' (with Freddie Hubbard). 1980's You'll Never Know saw
some major chart success with 'The Groove' (UK 10), even creating a
brief UK dance craze 'The Freeze' (instigated by disc Jockey Chris
Hill) His other albums were Rodney Franklin (1980), Endless Flight
(1981), Learning To Love (1982), Marathon (1984), produced by Stanley
Clarke, Skydance (1985) and It Takes Two (1986). In 1988 he switched
to BMG for Diamond Inside Of You which featured lead vocals by
Jennifer Holliday on the single 'Gotta Give It Up'. (mn-jt-rt)
1975
Papua New Guinea gains independence from Australia - Independence Day
- Papua, New Guinea.
2008
Norman
Whitfield
producer dies. b. Norman Jesse Whitfield, 12th May 1941, Harlem, New
York, New York City, U.S.A. d. 16th September 2008, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, Los Angeles, U.S.A. Norman Whitfield, the songwriter
and producer, musically way ahead of his time, has died on Tuesday
the 16th of September at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
He was 67. Norman had struggled for months with complications from
diabetes. Additionally he had recently emerged from a coma. Janie
Bradford and Detroit producer Clay McMurray were among the many
friends and Motown alumni monitoring his health up until his passing.
Clay McMurray spoke with Whitfield by phone last week. Clay had said
he felt Norman was recently 'fighting back' from his ill health. As
Motown went through changes in styles towards the latter years of the
1960's, Norman Whitfield moved the Motown Sound into an undiscovered
territory, incorporating rock, psychedelic sounds and pulsating
rhythms within his work. He was instrumental in moving the
Temptations away from the sweet soul sounds of the mid Sixties,
giving the lyrical content an enironmental and political dimension.
Along with Barrett Strong (who is also in a Detroit hospital
recovering from a stroke) the pair penned many of the Motown melodies
that are today seen as pop standards, perhaps most notably, 'I Heard
it Through the Grapevine', recorded by Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight
& the Pips seperately. Norman's post-Motown years included
the 1977 soundtrack to the movie 'Car Wash' which featured the band
Rose Royce. (soulwalking.co.uk)
17th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
118: ALIAN
L. LOCKE (1886-1954)
1878
Black
Invention:printing
press,
W.A. Lavette receives patent.
1979
Andrew
"Rube" Foster,
father of Negro leagues baseball, is born in Galveston, Texas, USA. (tr-iokts)
1940
Lamonte McLemore,
soul singer with The Fifth Dimension is born. The Fifth Dimension's
unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and
straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct
flower-power vibe. Although they appealed more to mainstream
listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a
definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material
helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and
Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie
musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." (mn-jt-sh)
1968
Lord
Jamar,
rapper from New Rochelle, New York, USA, raps with Brand Nubian,
born. Brand Nubian was formed in 1989 in the New York suburb of New
Rochelle. Grand Puba (born Maxwell Dixon) had previously recorded
with a group called Masters of Ceremony, and was joined by Sadat X
(born Derek Murphy, originally dubbed Derek X), Lord Jamar (born
Lorenzo DeChalus), and DJ Alamo (Murphy's cousin). The group signed
with Elektra and released their debut album, All for One, in 1990.
Most reviews were glowing, but the stronger rhetoric on the album
— especially the track "Drop the Bomb" — drew
fire from some quarters, including some white Elektra employees
reluctant to promote what they saw as reverse racism. Ultimately, the
uproar didn't really hurt Brand Nubian's career, but neither did it
produce a wider hit with pop or R&B audiences, despite the high
regard in which the singles "All for One," "Slow
Down," and "Wake Up" are held. A far more serious blow
was Grand Puba's departure from the group in late 1991, owing to
tensions that had arisen over his handling the lion's share of the
rapping. Not only did Brand Nubian lose their clear focal point and
chief producer, they also lost DJ Alamo, who elected to continue
working with Puba. (mn-ms)
1970
Vinnie,
'hard pop rapper' with Naughty By Nature, real name Vincent Brown,
from New Jersey, USA, born today. The group was formed in East
Orange, NJ, in 1986, while all three members — MCs Treach (born
Anthony Criss) and Vinnie (born Vincent Brown), and DJ Kay Gee (born
Keir Gist) — were attending the same high school. Initially
called New Style, they began performing at talent shows and were
discovered by Queen Latifah a few years later; she signed the group
to her management company and helped them land a deal with Tommy Boy
Records. Naughty By Nature's self-titled debut was released in 1991
and produced an inescapable Top Ten hit in "O.P.P." (which
supposedly stood for "other people's property," though a
close listen to the lyrics revealed that the second P represented
male or female genitals). "O.P.P." made Naughty By Nature
crossover stars, yet their ghetto sensibility and gritty street funk
(not to mention Treach's nimble rhyming technique) made them popular
in the hip-hop underground as well. Treach began a secondary acting
career in 1992, appearing in Juice; he would go on to supporting
roles in The Meteor Man, Who's the Man?, and Jason's Lyric, among
others. (mn-ms)
1977
Supremes Top UK Chart with Oldies Album. The album contained 12, N0.1
singles and remained on the chart for 7 weeks. (mn-jt)
1983
Vanessa Williams, Miss New York, becomes first black Miss America in
Atlanta City pageant. A mother of three and an actress as well as
a singer, she has come a long way since becoming embroiled in a
minor scandal over her appearance in Penthouse magazine. Four years
later she signs a recording contract with Wing Records. (mn)
1990
Natalie Cole, soul singer marries record producer Andre Fisher. (mn-jt)
18th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
119: CARTER G. WOODSON (1875-1950)
1951
Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr.,
neurosurgeon, is born in Detroit, Mitc., USA. Ben Carson is a
renowned American neurosurgeon. He is said to be one of the first and
youngest in the nation at the age of 32 to become the Director of
Pediatrics Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is an
inspiration to black children growing up with single parentage all
over the world. In 1987 Carson came to media attention when he
separated conjoined twins who were joined at the head and shared part
of the same brain. Dr. Carson is a recipient of numerous honors
and awards including more than 20 honorary doctorate degrees. He is a
member of the American Academy of Achievement, the Horatio Alger
Society of Distinguished Americans, the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor
Medical Society, and many other prestigious organizations. Dr. Carson
was appointed to the President's Council on Bioethics by President
George W. Bush in 2004. He has written three books: Gifted Hands,
Think Big and The Big Picture. Dr. Carson has been married to Candy
Carson for twenty-five years and has three sons. (tr-iokts-wickpedia)
1958
James Brown record's classic song Try Me (I need you) at
Beltone Studios, New York, NY, USA. It reaches N0.1 on the R&B
chart. (mn)
1962
John Fashanu,
football player born in Kensington, England. Played for Aston Villa;
Wimbledon; Millwall; Lincoln City; Crystal Palace and Norwich. League
Appearances 33. (tr)
1970
Jimi Hendrix dies
after he inhaled his own vomit at a time when it was presumed he was
under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both. He died at his
girlfriend's flat, Monika Danneman, London, England. The news stuns
the world. Although he will be remembered as rock's most innovative
and revolutionary guitarist, he had the natural instincts of a
bluesman and in fact built much of his early repertoire from the
blues. Some of what he did with feedback, fuzz tones, distortion, and
volume elaborated on the styles of blues guitarists Pat Hare and
Guitar Slim. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in
1992. (mn-jt)
1980
Cosmonaut Arnoldo Tamayo, a cuban, becomes the first black sent on a
space mission in space. Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January
29, 1942) was the first Cuban cosmonaut and the first person from an
American country other than the USA to travel in space. Born in
Guantánamo, Tamayo graduated from the Air Force Academy and
became a pilot in the Cuban Air Defence Force. He was selected as
part of the seventh international programme for Intercosmos on March
1, 1978. His backup cosmonaut was fellow Cuban José
López Falcón. Tamayo, along with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri
Romanenko, was launched into space as part of the Soyuz 38 from
Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 18, 1980, at 19:11 UTC). After
docking with Salyut 6, Tamayo and Romanenko conducted experiments in
an attempt to find what caused space sickness, and perhaps even find
a cure. After 124 orbits and 7 days, 20 hours and 43 minutes, Tamayo
and Romanenko landed 180 km from Dzheskasgan. The landing was risky,
as it was in darkness. Following his career as a cosmonaut, Tamayo
was made director of the Comités de Defensa de la
Revolución. Tamayo is married to Maria Lobaina and has two
sons, Orlando (born 1968) and Arnaldo (born 1970). To date he has not
been honoured with induction into the International Space Hall of Fame.
1992
Earl
Van Dyke,
session keyboard player with Motown records between 1961-71 dies.
(1929-1992.) In 1964 he replaced Choker Champbell as leader of
Motown's studio house band. The new group, affectionately dubbed the
Funk Brothers, also included James Jammerson (bass) and Benny
Benjamin (drums), but was known as the Earl Van Dyke Six when touring
in support of the label's vocal acts. (mn-cl)
2008
Pervis Jacksondies.
b. Pervis Angelo Jackson, 17th May 1938, New Orleans, Louisiana,
U.S.A. d. 18th August 2008, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. The bass
vocalist with The Detroit Spinners, Pervis Jackson, has died. He was
70. Pervis had been suffering from cancer. Pervis' widow, Claudreen
Jackson said her husband, died about 2 a.m. on Monday at Sinai-Grace.
She said the 70-year-old bass singer had been diagnosed two days
previously with brain and liver cancer. The doctors found tumors late
in July, but were unsure at the time if they were malignant. Pervis
formed the bass vocal foundation for the Detroit based group. He was,
additionally, one of the original members of the group. His vocals
can be distinctively heard on the Spinners tune 'Games People Play',
with Pervis singing the line '12:45'. Pervis last performed with
other members of the group during July in California. (soulwalking.co.uk)
19th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
120: CHARLES
S. JOHNSON (1893-1956)
1881
Tuskegee Institute opened by Booker T. Washington in Alabama.
1887
Lovie Austin,
bandleader/session musician/composer, born Cora Calhoun,
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. One of the first important female
bandleaders in jazz, Lovie Austin deserves to be much better known.
After studying music in college, she toured on the vaudeville
circuit, settling in Chicago in 1923. During 1924-1926, she recorded
frequently with her Blues Serenaders, a group that at various times
had Tommy Ladnier, Bob Shoffner, Natty Dominique, or Shirley Clay on
cornet; Kid Ory or Albert Wynn on trombone; and Jimmy O'Bryant or
Johnny Dodds on clarinet, along with banjo and occasional drums.
Fortunately, a Classics CD has collected all of those recordings.
Austin (as house pianist for Paramount) also backed many blues
singers (including Ida Cox, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter). But after
1926, her recording activity largely came to a halt. Austin worked
for 20 years as the musical director for the Monogram Theatre and
later on as a pianist at a dancing school, only returning to record
in 1961 as part of Riverside's Living Legends series. Although mostly
an ensemble pianist, Lovie Austin was a skilled arranger. (Died July
10, 1972, Chicago). (mn-sr-sy)
1893
Black Invention: Electric Railway Trolly,
Elbert R. Robinson. (sc)
1921
Billy Ward,
soul singer, and early member of the Drifters born in Los Angeles,
California, USA. (mn)
1931
Brook Bentonsoul/pop
singer born Benjamin Franklin Peay in Camden, South Carolina, USA.
Benton crashed the top spot on the R&B charts in early 1959 with
his moving "It's Just a Matter of Time," then rapidly
encored with three more R&B chart-toppers: "Thank You Pretty
Baby," "So Many Ways," and "Kiddio." Pairing
with Mercury labelmate Dinah Washington, their delightful repartee on
"Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good
Way" paced the R&B lists in 1960. The early '60s were a
prolific period for Benton, but he left Mercury a few years later and
bounced between labels before reemerging with the atmospheric Tony
Joe White ballad "Rainy Night in Georgia" on Cotillion in
1970. Benton later made a halfhearted attempt to cash in on the disco
craze, but his hitmaking reign was at an end long before his death in
1988. (allmusic)
1945
Freda Payne,
soul singer born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Best remembered for her
1970 No.1 hit 'Band of Gold'. Her anti-Vietnam song 'Bring
the Boys
Home'
was a million seller. Her sister Sherrie Payne sang with the 1970's
Supremes/Glass House. (mn)
1952
Nile Rogers
guitarist/producer with the group Chic born today in New York
City, USA. Nile Rodgers' contribution to popular music has been
extremely significant, whether it be penning some of the most
influential and popular songs of the disco era with Chic, or
producing countless hits for a wide variety of other artists. Born
September 19, 1952 in New York, New York, it was clear that Rodgers
possessed exceptional musical talent early on, and by the age of 19,
was playing guitar as part of the house band for the world famous
Apollo Theatre (playing alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin,
Funkadelic, etc.). Rodgers soon grew tired of his status as a backup
musician, however, and sought to put together a band of his own. (mn)
1960
Top
100 Trio by Twister.Hank
Ballard & Midnighters became the first group with three singles
in the chart simultaneously (let's go, let's go, let's go, Finger
Poppin' time and 'the twist'). (mn-jt)
1961
Referendum on Federation held. Jamaica votes to withdraw. (mn-cb)
1983
St. Kits & Nevis gains Independence. Saint Kitts was originally
settled by the French in 1627, while the British took Nevis a year
later. Over 150 year later, both islands came under British control
but it took another hundred years for Saint Kitts and Nevis to gain
their independence (1983). The economy of the islands rests heavily
on sugar products, an industry that was hurt by 1990's Hurricane
Hugo. There has been some dissension between the islands as Nevis
began to agitate for separation from Saint Kitts over the issue of
taxes but a 1998 referendum failed to settle the issue conclusively. (jc-mn)
1989
Gordon Parks's film 'The Learning Tree' is among the first films to
be registered by the National Film Registry of the Library of
Congress. (tr-iokts)
2005
Willie
Hutch,
soul singer/producer dies. Legendary Motown veteran who co-wrote
“I’ll Be There” for the Jackson 5, has died at his
home in Dallas, Texas, reports WREG-TV Memphis. He was 59. The
cause of death has not yet been released. Born Willie McKinley
Hutchinson in 1946 in Los Angeles, Hutch grew up in Dallas, where his
debut single “Love Has Put Me Down” was released in the
early sixties. After putting out his first album in 1964, the artist
went on to work with a number of artists as a writer and producer. In
1970, producer Hal Davis called Hutch at the 11th hour to write a
song for a backing track he had produced for the Jackson 5. The
Michael Jackson-led group reportedly went into the studio the next
day to record Hutch’s words on the track, which turned out to be
one of the group’s biggest hits, “I’ll Be
There.” Hutch went on to write and/or produce solo
albums for Jackson, as well as Smokey Robinson, The Fifth Dimension,
The Miracles, The Main Ingredient (“California My Way”),
Junior Walker, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, among others. He also
wrote the entire soundtrack for Pam Grier’s 1970s blaxploitation
masterpiece, "Foxy Brown" and worked on the soundtrack to
“The Mack,” including the song, “Brother's Gonna Work
It Out.” Hutch even penned a song for the 2005 John
Singleton-produced film, "Hustle and Flow."
Willie released two albums in the 90s: “From The Heart” and
“The Mack Is Back.” (eurweb)
2008
Earl
Palmer
session drummer dies. b. 25th October 1924, New Orleans, Louisiana,
U.S.A. d. 19th September 2008, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Session drummer, Earl Palmer, has passed away in Los Angeles,
California, at the age of 83. Earl played on many Rock and Soul
classics, including Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti' and The Righteous
Brothers' 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'.' He passed away at
his Los Angeles home after fighting a lengthy illness. Born in New
Orleans in 1924, to a mother who was a vaudevillian, Earl was
learning rhythmic patterns as a tap dancer at age four. He later
moved to Los Angeles, and worked mainly in both cities, recording
with some of the music world's all-time greats on a huge number of
songs. Earl drummed on Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep, Mountain
High,' Fats Domino's 'The Fat Man' and 'I Hear You Knockin' by Smiley
Lewis. From his Los Angeles home, Palmer drummed for music producer
Phil Spector and Motown. His list of session credits includes artists
as diverse as Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke,
Duane Eddy, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Otis,
Neil Young and Elvis Costello. Earl Palmer was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. According to the institution's Web
site, Little Richard wrote in his autobiography that Palmer 'is
probably the greatest session drummer of all time.' He married four
times and is survived by his seven children. (soulwalking.co.uk)
20th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
121:
MORDECAI JOHNSON (1890-1976)
1664
Maryland (USA) passed the first Anti amalgamation law. This
law was intended to prevent marriages between Black men and English
women. The Governor of the state at the time was Sir William
Berkeley. Interracial marriage was a fairly common practice during
the colonial era among white indentured servants and black slaves as
well as in more aristocratic circles. Subsequently, similar laws were
passed in Virginia 1691, Massachusetts 1705, North Carolina 1715,
South Carolina 1717, Delaware 1721 and Pennsylvania in 1725.
Intermarriage bans were lifted during Reconstruction in the early
1870's, but by the end of the decade mixed marriages were declared
void. It wasn't until the 1950's and 1960's that all of these laws
were lifted again. However in October, 1958, a Virginia grand jury
indicted Mildred Loving and her white husband for violating the
state's anti-miscegenation laws. Each pleaded guilty and received a
one-year sentence. Their sentences were suspended providing they
leave Virginia and not return for twenty-five years. The Loving's
appealed that decision to the U. S. Supreme court in Loving v.
Virginia 1967. and won. The Supreme Court struck down the Virginia
law and similar laws in fifteen other states at the time. Statistics
show that in 1991, there were 231,000 blacks married to whites, about
0.4 per cent of the total number of married couples in America. Still
according to the 1994 National Health and Social Life Survey, 97% of
black women are likely to choose a partner of the same race. Many
black women-the culture bearers-oppose the idea of interracial
marriage, opting instead for racial strength and unity through the
stabilization of the Black family. (aareg)
1830
The National Negro Convention convenes in Philadelphia with the
purpose of abolishing slavery. (tr-iokts)
1891
Lamine Gueye,
Senegalese political leader, is born in Medine, Mali., USA. (died
June 10, 1968, Dakar, Senegal) One of the most important Senegalese
politicians before that country gained independence. As early as
World War I, Guèye made radical demands for genuine
assimilation of Africans into French culture and institutions. In the
early 1920s he became the first African lawyer from French West
Africa to study in Paris. (tr-iokts)
1930
Eddie Bo,
singer/pianist/producer, born Edwin Bocage, New Orleans, La, USA.
After serving in the army, Bocage enroled at the Grunwald School of
Music to study piano and music theory. His penchant for playing jazz
and the more remunerative R&B led him to leading the house band
at the Tijuana Club as 'Spider' Bocage. Later, with the Spider Bocage
Orchestra, he toured with Guitar Slim, Smiley Lewis and Earl King. He
first recorded with Johnny Vincent's Ace Label in 1955, before
signing with Apollo in New York. He started a dance craze with Check
Mr. Popeye. (mn-rs)
1958Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.,
was nearly fatally stabbed to death. While signing copies of his
first book Stride Toward Freedom, a woman named Izola Ware Curry
stabbed King with a letter opener in Blumsteins Department store in
New York City. (aareg)
1984
The Cosby Show hits the US TV screens for the first time, also
to become just as popular in UK.
2008
Nappy
Brown
dies. b. Napoleon Brown Culp, 12th October 1929, Charlotte, North
Carolina, U.S.A. d. 20th September 2008, Charlotte, North Carolina,
U.S.A. He went peacefully in his sleep. Nappy Brown, was one of the
last remaining classic R & B vocalists and blues shouters, is
featured on the cover and in the lead article in a recent issue of
Living Blues magazine. The seven page article chronicles Brown's life
from his birth in 1929 in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as his
highly successful singing career which began with a series of hit
recordings in the mid 1950s. During his heyday, in the mid to late
50s, Nappy was a prolific recording artist for Savoy Records and a
much-in-demand stage performer, often playing every night and touring
all over the country. During that period he traveled and performed
with Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin'
Wolf, Little Richard, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson,
and T-Bone Walker. He provided ground-breaking hit songs for other
artists, one of his biggest being "Night Time Is The Right
Time" which was recorded and made famous by Ray Charles in 1958.
Nappy Brown was active as a performer until the end, performing until
his illness was too much. His last CD was recorded with a group of
younger musicians with an abiding knowledge of and respect for
Nappy's music and the era of its greatest success. Guitarists Sean
Costello and Junior Watson, among others, provided superb backing for
Nappy on Long Time Coming, his first studio recording in many years,
which was released by Blind Pig Records on September 25, 2007. Said
an exultant Nappy at the end of the recording sessions, "This is
the best record I have done since 1955." Steve Hecht, Piedmont
Talent Inc. Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. (soulwalking.co.uk)
21st.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
122:
BEJAMIN E. MAY (1895-1984)
1814
Black troops cited for bravery in battle of New Orleans.
1897
Black
Invention:Envelope
seal,
patent given to F.W. Leslie.
1901
Lord Learie Constantine,
born in Diego Martin, near Port of Spain, Trinidad. He travelled to
England in 1923 as a member of the West Indies cricket touring team
for the 1928 tour, during which he scored over 1,000 runs a rook over
100 wickets. During the second World War Learie was employed by the
Ministry of Defence as a welfare officer for West Indians working in
Manchester. After the war he became a barrister and continued to
expose discrimination. He wrote a book, the Colour Bar, in 1954. In
1958 he returned to Trinidad, was elected to Parliament and
became Minister of Works and Transport. He came back to England as
High Commissioner for Trinidad & Tobago and was knighted in 1969.
He became a governor of the B.B.C. and was made a life peer in 1969.
(Dies July 1, 1971)
1952
Lord
John Taylor
born in Birmingham in 1952 to Jamaican parents. His father was Derief
Taylor, a professional cricketer, and his mother was a nurse. Taylor
attended Moseley Grammar School in Birmingham where he was head boy,
then Keele University where he studied English Literature and Law,
followed by the Inns of Court School of Law in London. In 2011 he was
found guilty of stealing taxpayers money by make false claims. (wiki)
1953
Betty Wright,
soul singer born in Miami, Florida, USA. Sang in a gospel group from
the age of 3 with her sister an 4 brothers. In 1971 she co-hosted a
talk and music show on Miami's ABC-TV. Probably best remembered by
her 1971 Gold hit record Clean Up Woman on Alston records 1971. (mn)
1964
Bo Carter,
ribald bluesman, dies. Bo Carter (Armenter "Bo" Chatmon)
had an unequaled capacity for creating sexual metaphors in his songs,
specializing in such ribald imagery as "Banana in Your Fruit
Basket," "Pin in Your Cushion," and "Your
Biscuits Are Big Enough for Me." One of the most popular
bluesmen of the '30s, he recorded enough material for several reissue
albums, and he was quite an original guitar picker, or else three of
those albums wouldn't have been released by Yazoo. (Carter employed a
number of different keys and tunings on his records, most of which
were solo vocal and guitar performances.) Carter's facility extended
beyond the risqué business to more serious blues themes, and
he was also the first to record the standard "Corrine
Corrina" (1928). Bo and his brothers Lonnie and Sam Chatmon also
recorded as members of the Mississippi Sheiks with singer/guitarist
Walter Vinson. (b.21/3/1894) (mn-rs)
1968
Trugoy
The Dove
rapper from Amityville, Long Island, USA, and member of the group De
La Soul born David Jude Jolicoeur. At the time of its 1989 release,
De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the
future of hip-hop. With its colorful, neo-psychedelic collage of
samples and styles, plus the Long Island trio's low-key, clever
rhymes and goofy humor, the album sounded like nothing else in
hip-hop. Where most of their contemporaries drew directly from
old-school rap, funk, or Public Enemy's dense sonic barrage, De La
Soul were gentler and more eclectic, taking in not only funk and
soul, but also pop, jazz, reggae, and psychedelia. Though their style
initially earned both critical raves and strong sales, De La Soul
found it hard to sustain their commercial momentum in the '90s as
their alternative rap was sidetracked by the popularity of
considerably harder-edged gangsta rap. (mn-jt)
1984
James Brown, famous soul singer is married on this day to Modell
Rodriguez in South Carolina. (mn-jt)
1989
Gen. Colin Powell is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as chairman of the
joint chiefs of staff, the highest military position in the United
States. (tr-iokts)
22nd.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
123: JOHN
HOPE FRANKLIN (1915- )
Independence
Day - Republic of Mali.
1892Black
Invention:Window
Cleaner,
A. L. Lewis. (sc)
1906On
this date The Atlanta race riot occurred.
This tragedy was the result of bitter white hostility toward blacks
after vague reports of African Americans harassing White women. Over
five days at least ten Black people were killed while Atlanta's
police did nothing to protect black citizens, going so far as to
confiscate guns from Atlanta’s Black community while allowing
whites to remain armed. It was this and other events of hatred based
incidents during what was called the “Red Summers” in the
early twentieth century. They were part of a pattern of anti-Black
violence that included several hundred lynching each year for over
two decades. (aareg)
1915
Xavier University, the first African American catholic college,
opens in New Orleans, La., USA. (tr-iokts)
1937
Big
Twist,
singer with the Mellow Fellows, born, Larry Nolan, Terre Haute,
Ind., USA. Larry 'Big Twist' Nolan was the affable lead singer of the
horn-dominated group, which included Pete Special and saxophonist
Terry Ogilini. Before he joined the band in 1970, Twist, a
journey-man musician and singer performed everything from blues to
pop in Midwest bar bands was living in the collage town of
Carbondale, Illinois. When he agreed to become the Mellow Fellows
lead singer, he was playing drums in a country outfit. (Died March
14, 1990, Broadview, Ill, USA). (mn-rs)
1942
Marlena
Shaw,
jazz/soul vocals, b. Valhalla, NY, USA. Beginning as a soul artist
on the Bluenote label in the early 1970's, Marlena's strong voice
quickly establised her on the US soul scene. By the mid 1970's the
disco scene was beginning to influence the sound of Bluenote and it
was here that Marlena relesed "It's better than walking
out", which was the first 12" on the Bluenote label.
Switching to Columbia records in 1977 ensured better record sales;
her first album here includes the disco track "Pictures and
memories". Marlena, however, will best be remembered by disco
fans for her cover version of Diana Ross's "Touch me in the
morning" - the disco medley on the LP includes several late
1960's and early 1970's soul tunes. Listen out for "Love
dancin'" and "Haven't we been in love before". (info.net-discogs.com)
1954
Shari
Belafonte,
Singer/Actress, b. Hackensack, NJ, USA. Harry Belafonte's daughter.
Shari got her start as a successful cover girl model and appeared in
commercials for Calvin Klein jeans. She made her feature film debut
in 1982 in the movies Time Walker and If You Could See What I Hear.
Shari attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts before
transferring to Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh where she
earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. She started as a
production assistant and assistant director in public television on
the East Coast before moving to Los Angeles, where she became an
assistant to the publicist at Hanna-Barbera productions. While
getting her hands wet "behind the scenes", she has also
received a number of modeling and commercial assignments, and has
graced the cover of over 300 magazines. (info.net-wickpedia)
1962
'Do You Love Me' - by The Contours was released on this day. It
went on to be one of Motown's biggest sellers. The record was popular
again in the late 90's due to it's inclusion in the 'Dirty Dancing'
film soundtrack. (mn-info.net)
23rd.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
124:
PHILLIS WEATLEY (1753-1784)
1863 Mary
Church Terrell,
educator, U.S. delegate to the International Peace Conference, born
in Memphis, Tn., USA. A life long activist for women's rights and
civil rights, she grew up among the black elite of Memphis. After her
graduation from Oberlin College in 1884 Terrell moved to Europe to
escape racism at home. In 1896 she returned and founded the National
Association of Coloured Women, an important force in childcare,
schools for domestic sciences, and equal rights. (Dies 1954 two
months after Brown v Board of Education decision) (mn)
1905
Tiny Bradshaw,
born Myron Bradshaw in Youngtown, Ohio, USA. Tiny Bradshw began his
career in big band jazz, but he had his biggest success as a rhythm
& blues singer in the early 1950s. Bradshaw attended Wilberforce
University and studied psychology before moving to New York to begin
a career in music. One of his first stints was with Marion Hardy's
Alabamians, the group diat at one time had included Bradshaw's soon
to be mentor, bandleader Cab Calloway. In 1934 Bradshaw started his
own band based part on the style and sound of Calloway's big band.
For a while Bradshaw's band featured vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, but he
was better Known for hiring superior saxophonists such as Sonny Stitt
and Red Prysock. He died of a stroke November 26, 1958, Cincinnati,
Ohio, USA. (mn-rs)
1907
Albert
Ammons,
boogie woogie pianist, born in Chicago, Ill, USA. Albert Ammons mas
a major Boogie woogie pianist, who, along With Meade 'Lux" Lewis
and Pete Johnson, helped make the romping boogie woogie piano style
popular in the late 1930s and 1940s. In 1935 Ammons and his
colleagues performed at John Hmmond's Spirituals to Swing concert at
Carnegie Hall in New York. That legendary show led to a series of
recordings with the Library of Congress, as well as with the Vocalion
and Blue Note labels. These recordings documented Ammons's style,
which was influenced by first generation boogie woogie stylists such
as Jimmy Yancy and Pine Top Smith. In fact, Ammons's trademark tune,
'Boogie Woogie Stomp," is based on Smith's classic 'Pine Tops
Boogie Woogie'. (Dies December 5, 1949. in Chicago). (mn-rs)
1926
John Coletrane
alto saxophonist born. Since his death the most influential and
imitated tenor saxophonist in jazz, born in Hamlet, North Carolina.
Received his formal training in Philadelphia. Influenced by Charlie
Parker, worked as a journeyman for many jazz masters. (Dies July 17,
1967). (mn-cl-ss)
1930
Ray
Charles Robinson,
soul singer/composer/arranger/pianist born in Albany, Georgia, USA.
He was blinded by the age of 7 by Glaucoma. He then learned to play
the piano and compose in Braille at a school for the blind. Orphaned
at 15, he began performing and moved to Seattle in 1947. After
scoring some hits on Swing Time Records, he switched to Atlantic
Records in 1952, and there he began to develop the rougher
blues-and-gospel style that became a major influence on black popular
music and white rock 'n' roll. In 1955 Charles recorded his landmark
hit I've Got A Woman with a passionate arrangement of horns,
gospel-style piano, and vocals that presaged the soul music of the
60s, epitomized in his timeless hit What'd I Say (1959). He's also
much in demand at patriotic and political events. Dies 2005 (mn-ss)
1934
Little Joe Blue,
guitarist/singer, born Joe Valery, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA.
Guitarist and singer Little Joe Blue was an unheralded bluesman who
briefly recorded for the Checker (Chess) label in the mid 1960s and
later became part the Saa Francisco Bay Area blues scene. His style,
a blend of B.B. KING and LOWELL FULSON influences, endeared him to a
small circle of blues fans, mostly on the West Coast where be lived
for the better part of his career. Though born in Mississippi, Blue
grew up in Louisiana. By 1951 he had settled in Detroit, where he
worked on the auto assembly lines, Blue worded with Bobo Jenkins and
other Motor City blues artists but was unable to expand his
career beyond the local scene. After moving to California, Blue
recorded three singles for Checker in 1966 "Dirty Work Goin'
On," "My Tomorrow, 'and "Me and My Woman" but
none of the records attracted much attention. Blue Continued to work
small clubs, with an occasional tour of Europe with the American
Blues Legends package. In 1977 he moved to Dallas and performed in
local clubs there until relocating to Reo, Nevada. He died of cancer
April 22, 1990, Reno, Nevada, USA. (mn-rs)
1938
Ben E. Kingsoul
singer born Benjamin Earl Nelson. From the groundbreaking
orchestrated productions of the Drifters to his own solo hits, Ben E.
King was the definition of R&B elegance. King's plaintive
baritone had all the passion of gospel, but the settings in which it
was displayed were tailored more for his honey smooth phrasing and
crisp enunciation, proving for perhaps the first time that R&B
could be sophisticated and accessible to straight pop audiences.
King's approach influenced countless smooth soul singers in his wake
and his records were key forerunners of the Motown sound. (mn-jt)
1949
Floella benjamin (presenter/actor)
born. Playschool & Playaway. Known to a generation of
Britons as a presenter of popular children's programmes such as Play
School and Playaway. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago and
emigrated to the UK in the 1960s. After a spell as an actress, she
began presenting children's television programmes in the 1980s. She
was awarded an OBE in 2001 for services to broadcasting. At that time
she was chairman of BAFTA. Her autobiography, Coming To England was a
success. (nationmaster)
1973
Wigan Casino opened it's doors for the first time
to the soul fraternity at 2 a.m. The first record played was Put
Your Loving Arms Around Me by The Sherries and the D.J.
was Russ Winstanley. By 1981 when it closed the home of
Northern Soul had more than 100,000 members. (mn-rw-dn)
1980
Bob Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The live version of "Redemption
Song" on Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show.[4] Marley
afterwards sought medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels,
but his cancer had already progressed to the terminal stage. (wickpedia)
1991
Striker Ian Wright is purchased from Crystal Palace by Arsenal for
£2 million.
24th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
125: ALEXANDER
PUSHKIN (1799-1837)
1825
Frances
E. W. Harper,
a highly acclaimed novelist, poet and anti-slavery lecturer is born
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA when it was still a slave city. She
published her first volume of poetry early in her life (1845), then
taught sewing for a while before continuing her career as a poet. In
the same year that her second volume of poetry was published, 1854,
she gave her first anti-slavery lecture. By the end of the decade she
had become the most popular A-American poet in the Union. In 1864 she
returned to lecturing on social issues and helped to found the
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Women (1896).
The most prolific A-American author of her time.
1894
Edwin Franklin Frazier,
social scientist, born in Washington, D.C. (1894-1962) Sociologist
and educator, E. Franklin Frazier was born in Baltimore, Maryland. In
1916 he graduated cum laude from Howard University with a B.A. degree
and accepted a position as mathematics instructor at Tuskegee
Institute. He received his M.A. degree from Clark University in 1920
and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1931. A grant from
the American Scandinavian Foundation enabled him to go to Denmark to
study "folk" schools. From 1922 to 1924, Frazier taught
sociology and African studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta, then
served as director of the Atlanta School of Social Work until 1927.
He was on the faculty at Fisk University from 1931 until 1934, after
which he became head of Howard University's department of sociology,
a post he held until named professor emeritus in 1959. Frazier was a
prolific writer; he was the author of several books including the
controversial Black Bourgeoise. His numerous awards included a 1940
Guggenheim Fellowship and the John Anisfield Award. (mn)
1939
Wayne
Henderson,
Trombone, b. Houston, TX, USA. In 1961, he co-founded the hard bop
group The Jazz Crusaders. Henderson left the group (who had changed
their name to The Crusaders) in 1975 to pursue a career in producing,
but revived The Jazz Crusaders in 1995. (info.net-wickpedia)
1940
Mamie
"Galore" Davis,
Blues vocals. b. Erwin, USA. d. Oct. 6, 2001 (stroke, age 61). After
graduating from O'Bannon High School and joined a local band. During
her career, she performed with such musicians as Little Johnny
Burton, Buddy Hicks, Little Milton and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.
In 1965, under her first producer, Monk Higgins, she recorded her
first solo recording, "Special Agent 34-24-38", for the St.
Lawrence label. She recorded two more singles for St. Lawrence,
including her biggest hit, "It Ain't Necessary", in 1966. (info.net)
1957
President Eisenhower orders federal troops to Little Rock, Ar,
to enforce court-ordered integration of 18 Black students at Central
High School. News photographs at the time show Elizabeth Eckford
trying to pass through a cordon of white jeering students. (mn-ss)
2000
Denise Lewis from West Bromwich who holds the Commonwealth
Heptathlon Record (6736 in 1997). Olympic Bronze 1996; World silver
1997; Commonwealth Gold 1994, wins the Olympic Gold Heptathlon in
Sydney, Australia. (mn)
25th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
126: ALEXANDRE
DUMAS (1802-1870)
1925La
Revue Negre, the first American Black
troupe to play in Paris, debuted on this date. A vivacious, sensual
18-year-old woman was featured in a supporting role: Josephine Baker.
While America shunned her, the Parisians, with their appetite for
exotic personalities with dark skin, immediately fell in love with
her. Baker became an overnight sensation in Europe. She reveled in
near nudity and was famous for her "banana dance", for
which she wore little more than a belt of bananas, and it became the
trademark of European revues. During World War II, she was a spy for
the French Resistance. (info.net)
1911
Dr. Eric Williams,
former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, born. In his book
Capitalism and Slavery (1944), he suggests that slavery came to an
end more because of the falling price of sugar rather than the good
works of the abolitionists at the time. Controversy over this still
continues but his theory is widely believed. (mn-pf)
1936
Booba
Barnes,
blues guitarist and singer born Roosevelt Barnes, Longwood
Mississippi, USA. His brand of blues is raw and jagged and stems from
years of playing juke joints, including his own, the Playboy Club, in
Greenville, Mississippi. Inspired by Howlin' Wolf, Barnes began his
career as a harmonica player. By 1960 he was also playing guitar in a
Delta band called the Swinging Gold Coasters. Barnes moved to Chicago
in 1964 and performed on and off in the city's blues clubs. In 1971
he returned to Mississippi, formed a new band, and began playing juke
joints in and around Greenville. (mn-rs)
1940 Wade
Flemons,
soul singer born in Coffeyville, Kansas, USA. Respected by UK
Northern soul fans for his "Jeanette" on the Ramsel
label and "That
Other Place" on Tollie records. (Dies 13th October, 1993). (mn-cl)
1974
Barbara W. Hancock is the first African American woman to be named a
White House Fellow. (tr-iokts)
1991
On this date in 1991, "The Blood of Jesus"
was chosen as one of 25 films added to the Library of Congress's
National Film Registry. Black director Spencer William's 1941 movie
is about an atheist who accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She
dies and goes to an afterlife crossroads, where the devil tries to
lead her astray. (aareg)
26th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
127:
CHARLES W. CHESNUTT (1858-1932)
1899
William
Dawson,
composer, musician, born in Anniston, Al., USA. This prominent
Afro-American composer, arranger, and educator was born William Levi
Dawson and was credited with and without the middle initial
throughout his long and accomplished career. Like many prodigal sons,
and this artist can certainly be said to be one of the state of
Alabama's greatest prodigies, Dawson's story begins with running away
from home. He was 13 years old and was fleeing the life of a common
laborer in the town of Anniston, AL, a decision that has been made by
many residents over the years. Very few, however, had the motivations
of Dawson, who got into the Tuskegee Institute and paid to complete
his education there with whatever work he could find. (died May
2,1990 Tuskage, Alabama)
1937
Bessie Smith,
Empress of Blues, dies after a car crash from loss of blood, rumours
that she was refused admission to hospital because she was black were
denied. Bessie Smith was the greatest and most influential classic
blues singer of the 1920s. Her full-bodied blues delivery coupled
with a remarkable self-assuredness that worked it's way in and around
most every note she sang, plus her sharp sense of phasing, enabled
her to influence virtually every female blues singer who followed.
During her heyday, she sold hundreds of thousands of records and
earned upwards of $2000 per week, which was a queenly sum in the
1920s. (mn-rs)
1937
Black
Invention:Lawn
sprinkler design,
E.J. McCoy patents it.
1969
Fresh
Prince,
pop rapper/actor from Philadelphia, real name Will Smith member of
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince is born today. Beginning his
career during the mid-'80s under the name the Fresh Prince, by the
following decade rapper Will Smith was one of the biggest superstars
of his time — not only a pop music sensation, he also conquered
television and eventually feature films, starring in a string of
box-office megahits. (mn-ms)
1991
John Major spoke out in the Guardian newspaper on racial prejudice,
his roots in Brixton, and named some historical black personalities
like Mary Seacole, Samuel Coleridge Taylor and Sir Leari
Constantine. (mn)
1998
Betty Carter,
jazz singer dies, she was 69. Arguably the most adventurous female
jazz singer of all time, Betty Carter was an idiosyncratic stylist
and a restless improviser who pushed the limits of melody and harmony
as much as any bebop horn player. The husky-voiced Carter was capable
of radical, off-the-cuff reworkings of whatever she sang, abruptly
changing tempos and dynamics, or rearranging the lyrics into
distinctive, off-the-beat rhythmic patterns. She could solo for 20
minutes, scat at lightning speed, or drive home an emotion with
wordless, bluesy moans and sighs. (mn-echoes)
27th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
128: PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (1872-1906)
1822
Hiram R. Revels,
first black American in the U.S. Senate, born. He studied at a
number of collages and seminaries and became an ordained minister of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore in 1845. He
helped to recruit African American regiments during the Civil War and
begun a school for freedmen in St. Louis in 1863.(Dies January 16,
1901) (mn-ra-ss)
1912
W.C.
Handy's 'Memphis Blues' is published.
"Memphis Blues", written 1909, published 1912. Although
usually subtitled "Boss Crump", it is a distinct song from
Handy's campaign satire, "Boss Crump don't 'low no easy riders
around here", which was based on the good-time song "Mamma
Don't Allow It." (mn-wickpedia)
1941
Don Nix,
musician with May-Keys, born Memphis Tennessee, USA. Despite
scoring only one national hit, the 1961 instrumental smash "Last
Night," the Mar-Keys remain one of the most important groups
ever to emerge from the Memphis music scene. As the first house band
for the legendary Stax label, they appeared on some of the greatest
records in soul history, with their ranks also producing such
renowned musicians as guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald
"Duck" Dunn. The Mar-Keys formed in 1958 and included
drummer Terry Johnson, pianist Jerry Lee "Smoochie" Smith,
saxophonists Don Nix and Charles Axton, and trumpeter Wayne Jackson
in addition to Cropper and Dunn. Originally dubbed the Royal Spades,
in 1960 the group joined the staff at Axton's mother Estelle's
Satellite label, backing artists that included Rufus Thomas and his
daughter Carla. A year later, the Mar-Keys headlined the Chips
Moman-penned "Last Night," which reached the number three
spot in the summer of 1961. (mn-cl-ja)
1944
Stephanie Pogue,
artist and art professor, is born in Shelby, N.C., USA. Like that of
David Driskell, Stephanie Pogue's career as an art professor and art
collector has had a lasting impact upon her growth and development as
an artist. Her 1977 etching Aaron's Meadow, for example, was created
as an homage to the renowned Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas.
An avid collector of Douglas's work, Pogue created Aaron's Meadow as
a testament to the quiet, genteel, highly intellectual man who had
dedicated his life to the production and promotion of dignified,
positive images of African American life and history. Pogue's
inclusion of Douglas's distinctive vegetation, which appeared in such
works as his 1934 mural Aspects of Negro Life and the 1935 mural
Evolution of the Negro Dance, pays homage to Douglas's aesthetic
sensibilities. Pogue explained that she combined the concept of a
peaceful meadow with images from Douglas's own stylistic vocabulary
to infuse the work with an aura of quiet contemplation, creating a
feeling of intimacy between the audience and her testament to
Douglas. (tr-iokts)
1953
Robbie
Shakespeare
bass guitarist with Sly & Robbie born today in Kingston,
Jamaica. Known as the Riddum Twins, their playing has been the
backbone for hundreds of reggae artists of the last 25 years. With
Sly (Lowell Dunbar), drummer, have been at the heart of two major
upheavals in reggae development, and, second only to Bob Marley,
they've taken Jamaican music to the rest of the world. (mn-jt-llb)
1953
Diane
Julie Abbott(born
in Paddington, London) is a British Labour Party Member of
Parliament, representing the Hackney North and Stoke Newington
constituency. She was the first black woman elected to the House of
Commons when she was elected in the 1987 General Election. She
remained the only black woman MP for ten years until she was joined
in the Commons by Oona King in 1997. She is seen as being to the left
of New Labour and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group. (nationmaster)
1970
Marcus
Anthony Gayle,
6'1, 12.9 footballer born in Hammersmith. Club honours: Div 3 '92.
International honours: E: Youth. Jamaica: 5. (cm-mn)
1990
Marvin Gaye's name was added to the Walkway Of The Stars on Hollywood
Boulevard, six years after his death. (mn-jt)
2000
Channel 5 Television broadcasts the film 'Ronkswood'. A film about
the African American lynchings that took place in the 1920's. It's
thought that over 150 African-Americans were hunted and murdered in
or around Ronkswood. (mn)
28th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
129: CLAUDE MCKAY (1890-1948)
PCRL
D.J. SIMS
BORN
1785
David
Walker,
black abolitionist, writer of the famous "Appeal",
born. (died: June 28, 1830) He was born in Wilmington,
North Carolina. In the 1820s he made a living from a clothing store
that he had set up. In Boston, Walker made acquaintances with black
rights activists and was involved with the Freedom's Journal of New
York City, which was the first African American newspaper. In
September 1829, he published a pamphlet entitled Appeal to the
Colored Citizens of the World, which was directed towards the
enslaved men and women of the South. Because of Walker's Appeal,
which caused many slaves to gain hope of becoming free, plantation
owners created a $3,000 bounty for anyone who killed Walker, and a
$10,000 reward for anyone who brought him back alive. In June 1830,
not long after publishing the third edition of his Appeal, David
Walker was found dead in his home. Many believe he was poisoned,
although there is no evidence to support that allegation. Probably
the first printed assertion of black nationalism in the United
States, the tract was condemned by many as extremist and even
denounced by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (mn-wickpedia)
1935
Koko
Taylorsoul
singer born Cora Watson, Memphis, Tenn. Accurately dubbed "the
Queen of Chicago blues" (and sometimes just the blues in
general), Koko Taylor helped keep the tradition of big-voiced, brassy
female blues belters alive, recasting the spirits of early legends
like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Big Mama Thornton, and Memphis Minnie
for the modern age. Taylor's rough, raw vocals were perfect for the
swaggering new electrified era of the blues, and her massive hit
"Wang Dang Doodle" served notice that male dominance in the
blues wasn't as exclusive as it seemed. After a productive initial
stint on Chess, Taylor spent several decades on the prominent
contemporary blues label Alligator, going on to win more W.C. Handy
Awards than any other female performer in history, and establishing
herself as far and away the greatest female blues singer of her time. (mn-rs)
1948
Jimmy 'Bo' Horne,
soul singer born. Miami-based vocalist Jimmy "Bo" Horne
enjoyed some success in the '70s doing dance-oriented songs and
novelty tracks for such labels as Alston and Sunshine. "Dance
Across the Floor" was his lone R&B Top 10 hit in 1978, and
it was written and produced by Harry Casey, better known as K.C. of
K.C. and the Sunshine Band fame. Horne's other Top 20 R&B single
was "You Get Me Hot" in 1979 for Sunshine, although the
prior release, "Spank," clicked in many clubs during the
year. Horne's last single was "Is It In" in 1980, which
flopped. He has a mega rare Northern Soul release 'I Just Can't
Speak' on Dade that was popular in the UK in the Mid-90's. (mn-jt)
1972
Steve
JohnsonWBC
Lightweight World Champion Boxer is born. Record: 23-0 (13). Best
wins: Sharmba Mitchell; Jean-Baptiste Mendy and Saul Duran. He lives
in Denver, Colerado, USA. (mn-ring)1972 Jack
Alphonso Rodney,
5'7", 10.9 footballer, born in Kingstown, St. Vincent.
International Honours: St. Vincent: 65. (bh-mn)
1991
Miles
Davis,
jazz trumpet player dies. One of the foremost jazz musician's
of the century, known internationally to his fans as - Miles - set
styles in demeanour and sartorial elegance as well as to music. Born
to a well-to-do professional family in Alton, Illinois, he was raised
near St. Louis and begun playing the trumpet in local school bands. (mn-jt-ss)
2000
Darren Campbell wins Olympic Silver Medal for 200 metres sprint at
the Sydney games. (mj)
29th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
130: COUNTEE
CULLEN (1903-1948)
1860
Henrietta Vinton Davis born. She was
an outstanding African-American actress and an international leader
of the Garvey movement. Born in Baltimore to Mansfield and Ann
Johnson Davis, she taught school in Maryland and Louisiana, and in
1878 became the first black woman employed at the Office of the
Recorder of Deeds in Washington D. C., where she worked as an
assistant to Frederick Douglass. Davis’ dramatic career began in
1883 and over the next decade she traveled widely as an elocutionist,
attracting large audiences with her work by Dunbar, Shakespeare, and
others. She started her own company in Chicago in 1893, traveling to
the Caribbean, and collaborated on writing Our Old Kentucky Home. Her
connections in Jamaica and her friendship with Marcus Garvey
attracted her to the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1918.
Her experience as an actress were an effective communication vehicle
with the ideals of the Garvey movement, though she became
disillusioned with its mission later on. Henrietta Vinton Davis died
November 23rd 1941. (aareg)
1909Eddie Tolan was
born on this date in 1909. He was an African-American sprinter.
Tolan from Denver, Colo., was that areas city and state champion in
the 100- and 200-yard dashes. At the University of Michigan, he
attracted national attention in 1929 when he set a record in the
100-yard dash (9.5 seconds) and tied the record of 10.4 seconds in
the 100-meter dash. The 5 foot 7 inch Tolan, who raced with his
glasses taped to his head, won the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) championship in the 200- and 220-yard dashes and
the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship in the 100- and
220-yard events between 1929 and 1931. He finished second to Ralph
Metcalfe in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the trials for the 1932
Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the Games themselves, however, Tolan
set an Olympic record by handily winning the 200-meter in 21.2
seconds, and he eked out a narrow photo-finish victory over Metcalfe
in the 100-meter in 10.3 seconds, setting a world record.
Subsequently, Tolan had a brief career as a vaudeville performer with
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and later became a schoolteacher.
Edward Thomas Tolan was the first Black athlete to win two Olympic
gold medals. In his track career Tolan won 300 races, losing only 7.
While attending high school in Detroit, Mich., often called The
Midnight Express. He died Jan. 30, 1967 in Detroit, Michigan (aareg)
1931
Dr. Lenora Moragne,
one of the leading nutrition scientists in the U.S., born in
Evanston, Il.
1946
Roger
Hatcher,
vocals, b. Birmingham, AL, USA. (nfo.net)
1948
Bryant Gumbel,
first African-American to anchor a national network morning news and
entertainment program, is born. In 1982 he did this by becoming the
co-host of NBC's popular "Today" program. He had broken
into journalism in 1972, writing for the monthly black sport and
working as a sports commentator for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. In 1976,
the year in which he became KNBC's sports director, he won the first
of several Emmy Awards. From 1980 to 1982 he was the sports
commentator for the "Today" show, a position he held until
he became it's co-host. In 1986 he was voted the Best Morning TV News
Interviewer by the Washington Journal Review's annual poll. (ss-mm-tr-iokts)
1975
Jackie Wilson fell into a coma from which he never recovered.
When he died in 1984 he had spent nine years as a vertual vegetable,
and in 1986 topped the UK singles chart with Reet Petite a
29-year-old recording. It was said that he did show some signs
of recovery in the early days but his therapy was delayed because of
'paperwork' until it was too late to help him. (mn-jt)
1980
The Schomburg Centre specialising in black cultural research, opens
in New York, USA, cost of $3.8M.
30th.
SEPTEMBER
BLACK
HEROES PAST & PRESENT
EDUCATION:
131: JAMES
WELDON JOHNSON (1871-1938)
1966
Independence Day - Republic of Botswana. Bechuanaland becomes a
republic under the name of Botswana.
1935
Z.Z.
Hillsoul
singer born Arzel Hill in Naples, Texas, USA. Hill had been a
journeyman soul singer for nearly 20 years before the world caught
wind of his 60s-based R&B. While he began his musical career with
the gospel group the Spiritual Five, it wasn't until he signed with
Kent that his secular side began to bud.(Died April 27, 1984,Dallas,
Texas, USA. (mn-rs-ao)
1935
Johnny
Mathissoul
singer born in San Francisco, California, USA. Johnny Mathis has
been scoring hits since the late '50s. While his music does appeal to
an r&b audience, it has been more geared towards middle of the
road pop. where it has been extremely successful. Originally
recording for Fontana Records. his early UK success came with
'Teacher Teacher'(top 30, 1958), 'A Certain Smile' (top 5,1958),
'Winter Wonderland' (top 20, 1958), 'Someone' (top 10, 1959)
and 'The Best Of Everything' (top 30, 1959). When Fontana released
these songs on Johnny's Greatest Hits, it stayed in the American
charts for 490 weeks! (mn-jt)
1942
Frankie
Lymon
soul singer born, Washington Heights, New York, USA, d. 28 February
1968, New York City, New York, UM. Often billed as the "Joy
wonder', Lymon first entered the music business after teaming up
wisth a local all vocal quartet, the Premiers. Lymon joined the group
in 1954 and soon afterwards They were signed to the Gee label as the
Teenagers. Their debut, the startling 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love?',
was issued on 1 January 1956 and soon climbed into the US Top 10, a
alongside the early recordings of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. The
song went on to reach number 1 in the UK and sold two million copies.
1943
Marilyn McCoosoul
singer with Fifth Dimension born. Formed in Los Angeles during the
mid '60s, The Fifth Dimension were Marilyn McCoo and Billy
Davis Jr., Lamonte McLemore, Florence LaRue and Ron Townson
originally known as The Versatiles. While on tour with Ray Charles
they came to the attention of Marc Gordon who became their manager
and signed them to the Soul City label in 1967, Here they scored
American hits with 'Go Where You Wanna Go', 'Up Up & Away' and
'One Less Bell To Answer' from their seven gold albums for the label
through to 1972. In the UK their recordings were released on the
Liberty label, their hits here being 'Aquarius Let The
Sunshine In' (Top 20, 1969) and 'Wedding Bell Blues' (Top 20, 1970).
Ron Townson later Formed a group Wild Honey with Vesta Williams while
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr scored hit duets on thelr own. (mn-jt-rt)
1946
Sylvia
Peterson
soul singer with The Chiffons born. Formed in the Bronx, New York,
USA. They are best recalled for 'He's So Fine', a superb girl group
release and an international hit in 1963. The song later acquired a
dubious infamy when its melody appeared on George Harrison's
million-selling single 'My Sweet Lord'. Taken to court by the
original publishers, the ex Beatle was found guilty of plagiarism and
obliged to pay substantial damages. This battle made little
difference to the Chiffons, who despite enjoying hits with 'One Fine
Day' (1963) and 'Sweet Talkin' Guy' (1966), were all too soon reduced
to the world of cabaret and 'oldies' nights. They did, however record
their own version of 'My Sweet Lord'. (mn-jt-cl)
1954
Patrice Rushen,
soul singer/keyboard player born in Los Angeles. Patrice enrolled at
a special music school at the age of three and was giving classical
piano recitals from the age of six. In 1972 she entered and won a
competition at the Monterey Jazz Festival, shortly after which she
was signed as an artist by the jazz label Prestige Records. Here she
was the first woman emerge on the jazz and r&b scene as a self
contained recording artist writing playing and singing her own music.
She released three albums, Traverse (1974), Before The Dawn (1975)
and Shout lt Out (1977). Switching to Elektra Records, her music
became more dance/vocal oriented.(mn-jt-cl)
1959
Kojak
of Kojak and Liza, reggae artiste born Floyd Anthony Perch in
Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. He began his career chanting on
various sound systems under guise of Pretty Boy Floyd. He adopted the
gangster image that had proved successful for Dennis Alcapone and
Dillinger, but was unable emulate the fortunes of his role models and
changed his stage name to Nigger Kojak in response to a title given
to him by his followers. Inspired by the 70s television series Kojak,
he simulated the show's star with a shaved head and appeared with the
obligatory lollipop. (rt-mn)
1964
Marley
Marl,
rap music producer from Queens, USA, real name Marlon Williams, is
born. As a brilliant producer, Marley Marl has collected more
precious medals than any one rap performer. Two platinum records and
eight gold ones hang on his living room wall. Marley got his start by
faking a knowledge of broadcast equipment in order to work as
assistant to Mr. Magic, New York's first rap radio DJ Mr. Magic aired
Marley's tapes, recorded on a cheap four track deck in his living
room. His unpolished style, dubbed "the Marley sound, "set
a standard that other producers copied, and they have followed him
ever since. Marley now records in the upstate New York split level
where he lives alone. His equipment includes a $275,000, 48 track
mixing board and enough audio components to fill a small music store. (mn-cl-ms)
1971 (Andrew)
Andy Rodney Impey,
5'8", 11.2 footballer born in Hammersmith, London, England.
International Honours: E: U21-1. West Ham paid £1,300,000 for
him 26/9.97. (bh-mn)
1975
Boxers Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier fight 'Thrilla in Manila'. Ali wins!
2006Prentiss
Barnes
of the vocal ensemble, the Moonglows, has been killed in a traffic
accident. He was 81. His family of fourteen consisted of ten brothers
and four sisters. In his early teens, Prentiss Barnes moved to New
Orleans and worked odd jobs. Later, he relocated to Louisville,
Kentucky. Prentiss met Harvey Fuqua, Bobby Lester, Pete Graves, and
Billy Johnson in Kentucky where they started a band called the Crazy
Sounds in 1951. That group was discovered and promoted by Alan
Freed, who eventually changed their name to The Moonglows. In
March 2000, at the 15th Annual Induction Ceremony of the Rock N Roll
Hall of Fame in New York, Prentiss received the honor of being
inducted. (soulglow)