By Walter Rutledge
Please excuse my self indulgent opening digression. It is the perfect example of history being rewritten and romanticized to create propaganda more palatable to the American founding fathers myth. . Continue reading
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Category: Black History
7/29/23 O&A NYC GOING BACK TO AFRICA WITH WaleStyles: Wise African Proverbs And Sayings – Great Deep African Wisdom
By Adewale Adekanbi Jr.
WaleStyles shares wise African proverbs and sayings for some Saturday morning wisdom.
7/27/23 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Billie Holiday – God Bless The Child (film)- Presented by Chicago Blues Museum
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan [April 7, 1915 — July 17, 1959) an American jazz singer and songwriter Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner Lester Young. Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Continue reading
2/14/24 O&A NYC ST. VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE: Dudley Williams- Alvin Ailey’s Love Songs
In 1972, Alvin Ailey created the elegiac solo Love Songs for dancer Dudley Williams. The sixteen minute solo, composed in three sections includes A Song for You by Donny Hathaway; Poppies by Nina Simone; and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother by Donny Hathaway. Many thought of the work as the male equivalent of the female solo Cry (1971). Continue reading
5/3/23 O&A NYC MILESTONES- HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES BROWN: Live at the Boston Garden, April 5, 1968
On April 5th 1968, James Brown gave a free concert at The Boston Garden which became a thing of legend. Only 24 hours earlier civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated resulting in widespread violence across the United States. The mayor of Boston was persuaded to let the concert go ahead and it was broadcast live across the city by WGBH-TV. Continue reading
4/25/23 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: Harry Belafonte – Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) (Live)
Harry Belafonte sings his most popular song Day-O, an excerpt from his television special Harry Belafonte in Concert (Japan, 1960)”. Recorded live at Sankei Hall, Tokyo, 18 July 1960. From the album Calypso” (1956) Continue reading
4/25/23 O&A NYC IN MEMORARIUM: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
Harry Belafonte, a multi-talented entertainer and activist who broke barriers in the film and music industry, and was instrumental in the civil rights movement has died at 96.
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4/10/23 HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Ruby Dee- Harriet Tubman and The Underground Railroad (1964) |
The excellent Ruby Dee plays the escaped slave Harriet Tubman and her attempts to rescue enslaved family members and friends through the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad. aka “Go Down Moses.” With Brock Peters, Ossie Davis, Isabel Cooley and Ethel Waters. Continue reading
4/6/23 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Missing You- Diana Ross Tribute To Marvin Gaye
Missing You performed by Diana Ross and written, composed and produced by Lionel Richie as a tribute to Marvin Gaye shortly after his untimely death. Continue reading
3/31/23 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Lady Marmalade- LaBelle – (1975)
Lady Marmalade, a song by black R&B/Rock girl group Labelle, was written about a prostitute from New Orleans, Louisiana. The song’s inspiration was from Bob Crewe’s observations of New Orleans. It was originally recorded by the group Eleventh Hour for their greatest hits album. Continue reading
