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Posts tagged as “National Recording Registry”

“Lift Every Voice And Sing”: James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson’s Anthem to Freedom (LISTEN)

“Lift Every Voice And Sing”: James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson’s Anthem to Freedom (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 4, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

James Weldon Johnson,  an NAACP field secretary, civil rights activist, Broadway composer and professor who investigated and spoke out about lynchings in the first decades of the 20th century, also wrote the classic novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, first published in 1912.

But perhaps the publication Weldon is best known for was that of a song he wrote with his brother John Rosamond Johnson. In 1900, in honor of Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington as part of a tribute to Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday, they crafted a poem that was read by 500 schoolchildren entitled “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The poem celebrated freedom as it recognized a brutal past never to be repeated. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was so well received that the brothers set it to music and by 1919 the NAACP dubbed it “the Negro national anthem.” It has functioned in that capacity ever since.

The Johnson brothers pictured on the cover of this 1973 version of the sheet music

Sung for decades at countless meetings, events, and ceremonies, a 1990 version of the song performed by Melba Moore (which can be heard here on GBN’s “Black Americana” playlist ) was entered into the Congressional Record and, in 2016, into the National Recording Registry.

Singing this song today makes as much sense as any other American anthem, as it is a song of independence from tyranny, inhumanity and injustice. It is sung in honor of Americans who died building this country by progeny who seek to embrace the liberty, hope and prosperity freedom promises.

Enjoy Aretha Franklin, whose voice literally was designated an American natural resource, singing the song we might all lift our voices to sing. Full lyrics published below.

John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ and The Supremes' ‘Where Did Our Love Go?' Join National Recording Registry

By goodblacknews on March 23, 2016

The Supremes (l) and John Coltrane (r)
The Supremes (l) and John Coltrane (r)

article by Andrew R. Chow via nytimes.com
John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go,” are part of the incoming class added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress this year. The diverse crop of new inductees also includes the Vienna Philharmonic’s 1938 recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and live coverage from Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game.
The registry adds 25 recordings — deemed significant to American history and culture — each year. The field this year includes pop, (Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”), classic R&B (“Where Did Our Love Go,” The Impressions’ “People Get Ready”), field recordings (W.H. Stepp’s “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” captured by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in 1937) and comedy (George Carlin’s “Class Clown”). Joining these performers is Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposing what became known as the Marshall Plan to aid Europe after World War II.

The National Recording Registry now totals 450 recordings, the library said. A full list can be found at www.loc.gov.

To read original article, go to: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/john-coltranes-a-love-supreme-and-billy-joels-piano-man-join-national-recording-registry/?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

R.I.P. Singer/Songwriter and R&B Legend Ben E. King

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015
Ben E King
Ben E King received an award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012 (Photo via bbc.com)

R&B and soul singer Ben E. King, best known for the classic song “Stand By Me,” has died at the age of 76.  The singer died on Thursday, his publicist Phil Brown told BBC News.

King started his career in the late 1950s with The Drifters, singing hits including “There Goes My Baby” and “Save The Last Dance For Me.”  After going solo, he hit the U.S. top five with “Stand By Me” in 1961.  It returned to the charts in the 1980s, including a three-week spell at number one in the U.K. following its use in the film of the same name directed by Rob Reiner.

King’s other hits included “Spanish Harlem,” “Amor,” “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” and “Supernatural Thing – Part I.”
Fellow musician Gary U.S. Bonds wrote on Facebook that King was “one of the sweetest, gentlest and gifted souls that I have had the privilege of knowing and calling my friend for more than 50 years”.
He wrote: “I can tell you that Ben E. will be missed more than words can say. Our sincere condolences go out to Betty and the entire family.
“Thank you Ben E. for your friendship and the wonderful legacy you leave behind.”
Actor Jerry O’Connell, who played Vern in the film “Stand By Me” alongside River Phoenix and Corey Feldman, tweeted: “You know you are good when John Lennon covers your song. Ben E. King was a wonderful and immensely talented man.”
https://youtu.be/MX5sLLCrVdA
Born Benjamin Earl Nelson, he initially joined a doo-wop group called The Five Crowns, who became The Drifters after that group’s manager fired the band’s previous members.  He co-wrote and sang on the band’s single “There Goes My Baby,” which reached number two in the U.S. in 1959.

But the group members were paid just $100 per week by their manager and, after a request for a pay rise was turned down, the singer decided to go it alone. In the process, he adopted the surname King.

His first solo hit was “Spanish Harlem” in 1961, which was followed by “Stand By Me.”