THE GODFATHER AND KING OF SOUL

I was reading the New York Times book review section where I came across a new book that got my attention titled “The One: The Life and Music of James Brown,” by RJ Smith. Since I am old enough to remember Mr. Brown’s impact on African America and dare I say the world I found myself realizing that his untimely death in 2006 has left a void in what was once called “Soul Music”.

Young people today don’t realize the relevance of Mr. Brown’s accomplishments, although I doubt if brown himself ever doubted his own significance as a historic figure and an undeniably game-changing artist. It was quoted in the Times article that “his showmanship and art altered the music world. But James didn’t bring blacks to the mainstream; instead, he brought the mainstream to blacks and made them appreciate and internalize black music and culture themselves.”

Everybody who has ever heard a song by Mr. Brown has attempted to tell his story and try to dissect his complex and multilayered life. Regardless of the opinion most have failed to fully capture the depth of value that Brown and his music played in transforming American life. The article said:

“Smith not only effortlessly highlights James’s unmatched musical career, but also provides a well-studied historical context for the basis of his artistic expression. Chronicling the legacy of resistance through music, Smith explains how James’s artistry was closely linked to the struggle for civil rights as well as the cultural expression of blacks, from Africa through slavery and the journey into the 20th century. It would after all be impossible to discuss 20th-century music and the civil rights/black power movement without putting James Brown at the top of that list. And “The One” is the first serious book to explain precisely why.”

“When you reflect on the life and legacy of James Brown, it cannot be explained without taking into account the period in which he was raised and the experiences that shaped his identity. But just as important is how he incorporated his social/political views into his music in a way that was soulful and entertaining beyond belief.”

James Brown was an enigma and I would imagine by his own design, which could very well be the price of fame. Brown who grew up in the harsh and segregated south could not have been born into the multitude of success obtained throughout his career. This was accomplished by hard work, grit, and dogged determination. His life by virtue of being in the entertainment business was made up of constant challenges and hurdles, but his perseverance and tenacity — coupled with sheer talent — provided the world with a lens on the American black experience.

The article stated that “The One” thrives in highlighting how James’s irrefutable genius and artistry transcended social blockades and eventually drew audiences from all sectors of society. The funk originator never compromised his roots and never sold out in order to be accepted; rather, he made the world revolve around him. But despite his tremendous achievements, his success was still limited.”

The ­hardest-working man in showbiz not only made us black and proud, but he also possessed a soul rooted deeply in equality and justice for his people. I will not attempt to rewrite a story that has already been well written nor have I read the book but I am suggesting that to understand the greatness in a man that so many have tried to tarnish - maybe we should read the book.

I don't believe there are any perfect men but there are men with perfect intentions. Therefore, I’m going to overlook any faults or frailties the man may have had and just say as Mr. Brown said so boldly in a recording at a time when he could have ended his career - “Say it Load I’m Black and I’m Proud”. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

The Huge Shoulders Of Hal Jackson

It’s hard to imagine that not too long ago, and even today, there were and are still firsts with respect to the first Colored, Negro, Black, or African American to do this or that. The amazing radio personality Hal Jackson did it before it was believed possible.

He broke through the color wall on the radio in Washington in the 1930s, pushed the District’s major clothing retailers to let blacks into their dressing rooms and restrooms in the ’40s and became the first black host on a national broadcast network in the 50s – and I for one honor him.

Through most of the second half of the last century, many black New Yorkers grew up knowing Mr. Jackson as a radio DJ whose smiling face appeared on billboards across the city. Decades before that, Mr. Jackson was a household name in black Washington, which is what impressed me about him. Being from the area I remember the broadcasting giant and civil rights pioneer who repeatedly found ways to smash through barriers.

In the mid-1930s, he won free entry into Griffith Stadium as a volunteer to clear trash during Washington Senators games where no blacks were allowed to enter the press box. The Negro League’s Homestead Grays also played there where Mr. Jackson eventually was allowed to narrate some Gray’s games to the crowd in the ballpark. At the time, Negro League games were not broadcast on the radio in Washington.

He wrote a proposal to present “The Bronze Review,” a program of entertainment, interviews and news, but Mr. Jackson said nothing about having a black host. The station’s white executives had no idea that “bronze” was then the classy term for “negro” in Washington’s black community.

On his debut night, Mr. Jackson arrived at WINX with his first guest, Mary McLeod Bethune, President Franklin Roosevelt’s director of Negro affairs. They waited outside until 15 minutes before airtime to minimize the chance that station managers might bar them from the air. The show went on, devoted to a discussion about Washington’s blighted black neighborhoods. “The Bronze Review,” hosted guests such as first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, entertainer Lena Horne and Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (D-N.Y.) becoming a nightly must-listen show for black Washington.

By the mid-1940s, Mr. Jackson was doing sports and his late-night talk show on WINX and spinning “race records,” as songs by black artists were then known, during morning drive time on WOOK in Silver Spring. He performed commercials in rhyme and urged listeners to join his Good Deed Club, collecting toys and books for charities.

In 1949, Mr. Jackson by then was the host of a television variety show broadcast from the Howard Theatre. He organized a picket on Connecticut Avenue, then the city’s most prestigious shopping boulevard, against retailers who sold to black customers but refused to let them use the dressing rooms or restrooms. The protest worked: Stores changed their policies.

In 1954, a New York station, WMCA, lured Mr. Jackson to Manhattan to create the city’s first integrated air staff. Mr. Jackson’s “All-American Revue” was designed to appeal to black and white listeners with music by Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Xavier Cugat.

Within a couple of years, Mr. Jackson was again on the air virtually around the clock at white- and black-owned stations. By the late 1950s, Mr. Jackson had added a children’s TV show that featured New York’s first integrated studio audience. It was round this time that Irving Rosenthal, the owner of Palisades Amusement Park, asked Mr. Jackson to host weekend concerts at the theme park and the DJ’s face was plastered on billboards around New York.

Mr. Jackson worked as a popular DJ up and down the east coast; Washington, New York, a midday show at WANN in Annapolis and an evening gig on Baltimore’s WSID as well as owning several radio stations. In 1995, Mr. Jackson was the first black elected to the Radio Hall of Fame. Every black or minority working on radio or in television owe this man a debut of gratitude. Or maybe I’ll say it this way – “They stand on the shoulders of this Giant”.

After paying homage, and much deserved, I will use Mr. Jackson’s nightly sign-off reflected his peripatetic life: “I’ve got to pack the shellac and hit the track, but I’ll be back.” And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com