(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Music Sunday: Celebrating and honoring the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [1] ['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags'] Date: 2023-01-15 Rapper Common’s song, “A Dream,” produced by will.i.am for the film Freedom Writers, is one of the most well-known tunes highlighting King’s speech delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, to civil rights marchers gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. x YouTube Video Less well known are the recordings about King from Chicago gospel family, The Norfleet Brothers. This group of 15 siblings, 10 of whom were male, who moved from Alabama to Chicago in the late 1940s. They first sang the story of King for Rush Records in 1961. x YouTube Video The group recorded an update after King’s assassination. x YouTube Video From the folk music realm, Pete Seeger—who played a role in popularizing the civil rights movement anthem “We Shall Overcome”—also sang frequent tributes to King. Here’s an 89-year-old Seeger on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2008, singing “Take It From Dr. King,” which he wrote in 2002. x YouTube Video Lyrics: Down in Alabama, 1955 Not many of us here tonight were then alive; A young Baptist preacher led a bus boycott He led the way for a brand new day without firing a shot Don't say it can't be done The battle's just begun Take it from Dr. King You too can learn to sing So drop the gun Oh those must have been an exciting 13 years Young heroes, young heroines There was laughter, there were tears Students at lunch counters Even dancing in the streets To think it all started with sister Rosa Refusing to give up her seat Song, songs, kept them going and going; They didn't realize the millions of seeds they were sowing They were singing in marches, even singing in jail Songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail We sang about Alabama 1955 But since 9-11 we wonder will this world survive The world learned a lesson from Dr. King: We can survive, we can, we will And so we sing — Don't say it can't be done The battle's just begun Take it from Dr. King You too can learn to sing So drop the gun Seeger also recorded with folk singer and activist Brother Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick. He was an associate of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning in 1968, he recorded three albums with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. One was a recording of the 1978 Louisiana Folk Fest, an annual event that Kirkpatrick had conceived and regularly hosted to preserve and celebrate musical culture. He used music to teach schoolchildren Black history, including the American Civil Rights Movement. Kirkpatrick was featured singing "Bring 'Em Home" and "Give Peace a Chance" on stage with Pete Seeger at the anti-Vietnam War march and rally on November 15, 1969, in Washington, DC, inspiring an audience of more than half a million people. Here’s a 1974 collaboration between Seeger and Kirkpatrick for Sesame Street. x YouTube Video Certainly today’s anti-critical race theory right-wing white supremacists would be shocked about this song being sung to children, for public funded television, no less. RELATED STORIES: What’s the ‘critical race theory’ uproar really about? The right-wing need to fabricate enemies Here's what attacks on critical race theory are defending: History from a slaveholder's viewpoint Of all the international tributes to King, my top picks will always go to two songs by rockers U2 and lead singer Bono from their 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire: ”Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “MLK.” This 1986 performance of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” from the Amnesty International “A Conspiracy of Hope Tour,” opens with a stanza from “MLK,” and has been described as “epic” and “transcendental.” “He wasn’t just talking about the American dream,” Bono stated at the 2004 ceremony honoring the 75th birthday of Martin Luther King. “It was a much bigger idea, actually, an idea that could fit an African dream, an Irish dream. And it certainly wasn’t a daydream. It was a call to action.” When “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” was initially conceived on the 1983 War tour, it was written with claws directed at Ronald Reagan and his pride in the Military Industrial Complex of American imperialism. But when Bono picked up a copy of the Stephen B. Oates 1982 biography Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and rearranged the song from a place of protest to a celebration of life. Enjoy. x YouTube Video ”Pride (In the Name of Love)” lyrics: One man come in the name of love One man come and go. One man come he to justify One man to overthrow. In the name of love What more in the name of love. In the name of love What more in the name of love. One man caught on a barbed wire fence One man he resist One man washed up on an empty beach One man betrayed with a kiss. In the name of love What more in the name of love. In the name of love What more in the name of love. Early morning, April four Shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride. In the name of love What more in the name of love. In the name of love What more in the name of love. In the name of love What more in the name of love. In the name of love What more in the name of love. Here’s a powerful performance of “MLK,” the less known of the band’s King tributes, which has been described as “a meditative masterpiece, written as a consolation for the slain dreamer.” x YouTube Video ”MLK” lyrics: Sleep, sleep tonight And may your dreams be realized. If the thunder cloud passes rain So let it rain, rain down on he. So let it be. So let it be. Sleep, sleep tonight And may your dreams be realized. If the thunder cloud passes rain So let it rain, let it rain Rain down on he. While U2 is known globally, I’d like to introduce you to Israeli-American violinist Miri Ben-Ari. Meet Miri Ben-Ari, a Grammy Winner violinist-producer-humanitarian, “UN Goodwill Ambassador of Music” to the United Nations and TED speaker, originally from Israel, who has invented a unique sound – a revolutionary fusion of classical, Hip Hop, and dance music. She is a music trendsetter, recognized as a musical pioneer. This classically trained violinist, who once studied under the late classical master Isaac Stern, has helped sell millions of records by collaborating with other Grammy Award Winning artists such as Kanye West, Jay Z, Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Twista, Wynton Marsalis, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Akon, Patti Labelle, Akon, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, John Legend, Aventura, Fetty Wap, Diamond Platnumz, and Armin Van Buuren. Her album "The Hip Hop Violinist"/ Universal Records features many of these collaborations. Ben-Ari’s stunning “Symphony of Brotherhood” samples King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. x YouTube Video Moving on to classical music, musicologist and critic Walter Simmons discussed American composer Nicolas Flagello’s 1968 “Passion of Martin Luther King,” as performed by the Portland Symphonic Choir and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in 1995. Flagello’s Passion of Martin Luther King is constructed along the lines of an oratorio, in which five choral settings of Latin liturgical texts alternate with solo settings of lines taken from King’s speeches. Actually, the choral portions originated in a work entitled Pentaptych, which Flagello had composed in 1953, but which had left him with certain reservations. King’s assassination 15 years later crystallized for him the realization that the eloquent words of the contemporary spiritual leader could provide just the human focus the Pentaptych lacked. He immediately restructured the work, selecting excerpts from King’s speeches and setting them in an expressive arioso that blends seamlessly with the choral portions, in such a way that the vernacular solo element continually reverberates against the timeless spirituality of the Latin choral sections in a deeply moving synergy. x YouTube Video One complete opposite of classical music is what many would call classic old school hip-hop. In 1991, New York rappers Chuck D and Flavor Flav, known as the group Public Enemy, responded to the racist moves from Arizona voters and then-Gov. Evan Mecham, who decided to remove Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday for state workers. In February 2021, Alexander Fruchter wrote about Public Enemy’s epic "By The Time I Get To Arizona” and its immediate and long-term impact for LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells blog. The video could not be ignored. It was quickly condemned by conservatives and banned from TV. The message was already out there though, and Public Enemy received tremendous support from the artist community. The song helped in national efforts to make MLK day a holiday everywhere. It put pressure on other artists to boycott the state, and had to play some role in the NFL’s decision to pull the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix. The song and video definitely struck a nerve. To recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day is to recognize MLK's role in the Civil Rights Movement; and in doing that, forces us to recognize the evil that MLK fought to end. It is a conversation a lot of folks did not want to have in 1991, and it's a conversation that many still don't want to avoid at all costs. It took a vicious pandemic, and a summer of riots and civil unrest for America to wake up and recognize the racism and white supremacy that is embedded in the very DNA of this country. The very controversial video for the song—which features Sister Souljah and was never released as a traditional single—is worth a watch. x YouTube Video In 2011—20 years after “By the Time I Get to Arizona” dropped—writer Evan Serpick revisited the song’s impact for SPIN Magazine. The video for “By the Time I Get to Arizona” aired on MTV only one time in 1991. But its vision of violent retribution in the face of government callousness kicked over the coffee table of America’s polite conversations about race. On November 6, 1990, the people of Arizona voted down a proposal to create a state holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by a margin of 17,000 votes. The vote came two years after then-Governor Evan Mecham canceled MLK Day, saying, “I guess King did a lot for the colored people, but I don’t think he deserves a national holiday.” Public Enemy’s response, “By the Time I Get to Arizona,” bubbled over with frustration, contempt, and wit, as legendary firebrand Chuck D took aim at the citizens of Arizona and, Mecham in particular: “The cracker over there/He try to keep it yesteryear/The good ol’ days/The same ol’ ways/That kept us dyin’.” Says Chuck, “I’m a firm believer that hip-hop can change the world and make statements like Bob Marley.” To this day, I have a hard time listening to this emotion-filled tribute from Nina Simone, which was recorded days after King’s assassination, when we were all reeling, filled with shock, pain, and anger. x YouTube Video From the YouTube video’s notes: Recorded on April 7, 1968, live three days after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and performed at the Westbury Music Fair. Nina Simone dedicated her performance to King's memory. The song was written by her bass player, Gene Taylor. An edited version of this performance appears on Simone's album, Nuff Said (1968). I felt the unedited version captures the true emotional energy of the period surrounding Simone's performance. ”Why? (The King of Love is Dead)” lyrics: We want to do a tune Written for today, for this hour For Dr. Martin Luther King We've stated before that the whole program is dedicated to his memory But this tune is written about him, and for him and so We had yesterday to learn it and so we'll see Once upon this planet earth Lived a man of humble birth Preaching love and freedom for his fellow man He was dreaming of a day Peace would come to earth to stay And he spread this message all across the land Turn the other cheek he'd plead Love thy neighbor was his creed Pain humiliation death, he did not dread With his Bible at his side From his foes he did not hide It's hard to think that this great man is dead (oh yes) Will the murders never cease Are thy men or are they beasts? What do they ever hope, ever hope to gain? Will my country fall, stand or fall? Is it too late for us all? And did Martin Luther King just die in vain? Cos he'd seen the mountain top And he knew he could not stop Always living with the threat of death ahead Folks you'd better stop and think 'Cause we're heading for the brink What will happen now that he is dead? He was for equality For all people, you and me Full of love and good will, hate was not his way He was not a violent man Bigotry had sealed his fate We can all shed tears but it won't change a thing Teach your people, will they ever learn Must you always kill with burn and burn with guns And kill with guns and burn Don't you know how we gotta react? Don't you know what it will bring? Well see he'd seen, the mountaintop And he knew he could not stop Always living with the threat of death ahead Folks you'd better stop and think Cause everybody knows were on the brink What's will happen now that the king of love is dead? Cause see he'd seen, the mountaintop And he knew he could not stop Always living with the threat of death ahead Folks you'd better stop and think and feel again For we're headed for the brink What's gonna happen now? In all of our cities? My people are rising; they're living in lies Even if they have to die Even if they have to die at the moment they know what life is Even at that one moment that ya know what life is If you have to die, it's all right Cause you know what life is You know what freedom is for one moment of your life What's gonna happen now that the King is dead? I heard, that um, well we've heard all kinds of stories But I heard that this was his favorite song near the end of his life Last year or a year ago, maybe a little longer than that now Lorraine Hansberry left us, and she was a dear friend She had her favorite song, that Langston Hughes left us Coltrane left us, Otis Redding left us Who can go on, do you realize how many we have lost? Then it really gets down to reality, doesn't it? Not a performance, not microphones and all that crap But really something else We've lost a lot of them, in the last two years But we have remaining, Monk, Miles Audience: Nina! Ms. Simone: I love you too And of course, for those we have left we are thankful But we can't afford any more losses, oh no, oh my god They're shooting us down one by one Don't forget that Because they are Killing us one by one Well all I have to say is that those of us who Know how to protect those of us that we love Stand by them and stay close to them And I say that if there'd been a couple of more a little closer to Dr. King he wouldn't have got it Just a little closer to him, stay there, stay there We can't afford any more losses He had seen the mountain top And he knew he could not stop Always living with the threat of death ahead Folks you'd better stop and think For we're almost to the brink What will happen, now that the King is dead? Less well known is this tribute from Terry Callier, who remains an unknown to far too many music lovers. For far too long, folk-jazz mystic Terry Callier was the exclusive province of a fierce but small cult following; a singer/songwriter whose cathartic, deeply spiritual music defied simple genre categorization, he went all but unknown for decades, finally beginning to earn the recognition long due him after his rediscovery during the early '90s. Born in Chicago's North Side -- also home to Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, and Ramsey Lewis -- and raised in the area of the notorious Cabrini Green housing projects, Callier began studying the piano at the age of three, writing his first songs at the age of 11 and regularly singing in doo wop groups throughout his formative years. While attending college, he learned to play guitar, eventually setting up residency at a Chicago coffeehouse dubbed the Fickle Pickle and in time coming to the attention of Chess Records arranger Charles Stepney, who produced Callier's debut single, "Look at Me Now," in 1962. “Martin St. Martin” appears on Calllier’s 1978 album Fire and Ice. x YouTube Video Callier sings “… your name will never be forgotten,” and we continue to see that promise kept. Another artist from the Chicago music scene to pay homage to the civil rights icon is Mississippi-born bluesman Otis Spann. x YouTube Video From the YouTube video’s notes: The great blues piano man, Otis Spann, captures the horror and desolation of the loss of King in his deep and moving song “Blues for Martin Luther King”. While Spann (who is probably best known as a sideman to Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters) was not known as a singer, this song was so personally important to him that he opted to sing it himself. As an African American who grew up in the Jim Crow South before moving to Chicago, one can only imagine what King‘s actions (and the wider Civil Rights Movement) meant to Spann and how personally he must have felt the loss. Long after his murder on April 4, 1968, King’s name was invoked in a song about another man surnamed King—first name Rodney—who was brutally beaten by the Los Angeles Police on March 3, 1991, a beating that was caught on video, which was far from the norm in the early ‘90s. Folk-blues guitarist and singer Ben Harper links both Kings in this impassioned appeal for help. x YouTube Video [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/15/2146090/-Black-Music-Sunday-Celebrating-and-honoring-the-memory-of-the-Rev-Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/