MUSIC ~ "Let Thy Mantle Fall On Me" ~ By: Floyd W. Hawkins

During the week of July 18th through 22nd, Alisdair attend a Daily Vacation Bible School at the Church of God in Christ Mennonite, just outside of Neilburg.  On the Friday evening, the children and teachers presented a program for parents and members of the community to attend.

Alisdair's group recited Psalm 100 and Psalm 23 (Verses 1 through 6) before singing a hymn I had never heard before.  It was called "Let Thy Mantle Fall On Me."  Both the words and music were written by Floyd W. Hawkins (it was copyrighted in 1962 by the Lillenas Publishing Company).

The words of this hymn should be the heart cry of each and every believer.  It was very encouraging to hear the young folk seeking an outpouring of more of the Holy Spirit upon their lives.  Perhaps you are also unfamiliar with this song.  Here are the words:

LET THY MANTLE FALL ON ME

1) Elijah was God's prophet;

Elisha stood close by,

And ere the prophet left him,

He heard his servant cry:

CHORUS:

Let thy mantle fall on me!

Let thy mantle fall on me! (on me!)

A double portion of Thy spirit,

Lord, Let thy mantle fall on me!

2) Then Elijah made the promise

That, if faithful he would be,

His petition would be granted,

And God's glory he would see

3) As Elijah rose to heaven

In a chariot of fire,

He did not forget his servant,

Who expressed one strong desire.

4) In the Upper Room they waited --

"Twas the faithful Christian band -

And their pray'r was heard and answered

Over in the gloryland.

5) That pray'r of early Christians

Long ago and far away

Is the cry of all God's children;

And He's just the same today.

VIDEOS ~ Duke Ellington - "It Don't Mean a Thing" (1943)

Here is a little music to go with the "poetic" post about Duke Ellington.  It's definitely inspiring stuff!

VIDEOS ~ Edward Reid Singing on "Britain's Got Talent"



This entertaining fellow is a drama teacher from Coatbridge, Scotland.  His performance on "Britain's Got Talent" was shown on the Canada AM morning newscast recently.  Alisdair and I loved it!

REFLECTIONS ~ Holy Week 2011 ~ "Jesus Built A Bridge"

This beautiful Easter lily was on the desk at the North Battleford Swimming Pool on Friday afternoon when Alisdair was taking his weekly lesson.  I couldn't resist snapping a photograph to capture its blooms.

May God bless you as we move through "Holy Week" in the lead up to Easter Sunday.  The "Ladies Choir" I have been singing with recently will be part of a joint Good Friday service in our community with the United Church and the Evangelical Free denomination.  We will also be singing at the Easter service at Manitou Evangelical Free Church.  The songs include:  "Love Is Why,"  "So Willing to Die For Me,"  "Thirty Pieces of Silver," "I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary" and "Jesus Built a Bridge."

The last song says it all:

"Jesus built a bridge to heaven,

so that I could find a way up to Him,

Jesus built a bridge, the only way He could,

 with only three nails and two pieces of wood,

With one rugged cross,
Jesus built a bridge."

Have a blessed Easter!

VIDEOS ~ Prime Minister Stephen Harper Sings "IMAGINE" & Causes Controversy

While Alisdair was delivering the Saskatoon Star Phoenix this morning, an article by their columnist, Les Macpherson caught my eye. He writes:

"If nothing else, this lacklustre federal election campaign has convinced me who I absolutely do not want as our prime minister:

Yoko Ono.  Yoko Ono."

"The malicious old harpy set a new standard for campaign meanness by forcing YouTube to pull a video of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper singing Imagine. This she had every legal right to do, having inherited the song's publishing rights from her late husband, John Lennon. That doesn't make it any less mean."

"Harper was touring a Winnipeg school when he performed Imagine, obviously unrehearsed, with fifth-grade student Maria Aragon. It is fine for Ono to stick it in Harper's ear by yanking the video from YouTube, but what about the little girl? How must she have felt when she learned her once-in-a-lifetime experience of performing with Canada's prime minister was expunged from the most popular video-sharing site."

"Yoko Ono doesn't care. If she has to step on a 10-year-old schoolgirl to take a cheap shot at a foreign politician, so be it."

"Protecting copyright was the means here, not the end. This was a deliberate shot from Ono at Harper. Numerous other renditions of Imagine, amateur and professional, are up on YouTube, including one by Bill Clinton, but only this one was removed for copyright reasons. It figures that Ono, a well-known lefty boohoo, would adore Clinton and despise Harper, although their differences are not as great as she might like to, uh, imagine. Clinton is more charming, certainly, but Harper is more respectful of women. You would think a self-proclaimed champion of feminism would appreciate the distinction."

"Ono's selective churlishness over copyright violates the very spirit of Imagine. The song invites us to imagine, among other things, a world of no possessions. Copyright is a kind of possession. By forbidding others from performing the song, Ono not only endorses the notion of personal property, she uses it as a stick to beat on Canada's prime minister."

"And if a 10-year-old girl from Winnipeg gets clipped by the follow through, too bad.
Too bad, as well, that Harper performed Imagine in the first place. It's a terrible song. The melody is fine and the piano riff catchy enough, but these are overwhelmed by the most nauseating lyrics in any pop song ever."

"The aforementioned line about imagining no possessions is especially hard to swallow without provoking the gag reflex. We don't have to imagine no possessions. We've seen it tried in the old Soviet Union. The record shows that it didn't work out very well. But you have to admire Lennon's chutzpah in charging $12 for a record album that urged us to reject capitalism."

"What I don't understand is how Harper, a Conservative prime minister and a tireless proponent of free markets, can bring himself to sing "imagine no possessions." It's as if he's campaigning for the NDP."

"The song also urges us to imagine nothing to kill or die for. But what about freedom?"

"This is something for which many have killed and died, to our great and enduring benefit. Lennon's very freedom to dump on the status quo that treated him so generously was paid for in blood. Imagination manifestly did not get it done."

"Lennon sounds here like one of those silly juvenile idealists who likes to pronounce that violence never solves anything. This is not only wrong, it's stupid. Violence solved Hitler and the Holocaust. Violence solved the institutionalized cruelty of Imperial Japan."

"The violence of the American civil war solved slavery. The threat of violence solved Soviet repression of Eastern Europe. It was not imagined away. To acknowledge this is perhaps too much to expect from a guy who, in the name of peace, stayed in bed for weeks."

"Somewhat easier to imagine is a world with no religion. I'm not very religious myself, so, for me, this is no problem."

"The problem would come about five minutes after religion was eliminated, when someone started a new religion. He'd have a monopoly, too, until someone else launched a competing religion. Then they'd be at it again, hammer and tongs, just as before."

"Lennon wrote and performed so many great songs, it pains me that Imagine, one of his worst efforts, is the one that endures. What I like to imagine is never hearing it again."

lmacpherson@thestarphoenix.com
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

***

When our deliveries were finished, we came home and checked online and found the video, was actually still available. (It's posted above.)

In the words of Lennon's "Imagine" ... "You may say that I'm a dreamer ... but I'm not the only one..." as Alisdair wants to become the Prime Minister of Canada someday. He's already started learning how to make speeches, but obviously we should be finding a music teacher so that he can also learn how to play piano for impromptu photo opportunities while out on the hustings prior to elections!

Just imagine... my son as Prime Minister Ramsay-Mackenzie! Now that WOULD be something to sing about!!

OPERA ~ "TOSCA" ~ By: Giacomo Puccini ~ Our Impressions and Perspectives

We've been to the opera!  Last Thursday, Isobel attended school for the morning session and then we picked her up, packed a few things in the van, and set off for Edmonton.  Unfortunately our map was out-of-date and so we had a little problem finding the correct turn-off.  I was thankful for a cell phone and for a brother, who lives in the area.  We called him and he gave us very specific directions to get to the venue.  Thanks, Vance!

While driving through traffic, down Fox Drive, enroute to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Isobel looked out the window, peering at the trees lining the roadway.  "This is all new for me!" she exclaimed.

Alisdair and Isobel standing in front of the
 Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium,
 Edmonton, Alberta

We were a couple hours early but didn't want to go elsewhere, so John sat relaxing in the lobby of the "Jube" and I took the children for a lengthy walk around the University of Alberta campus.  We got back just in time to pick up our tickets from the "Guest and Media Table."  The envelope said "Porter Homeschool."  The emcee would later announce that there were eleven homeschools represented, in the audience, as well as students from places like Ponoka and King's University College ~ even an Italian language class! To round out the audience, there were some seniors (mostly ladies), too!  One elderly lady had brought her two granddaughters with her.  How sweet!

Since it was the dress rehearsal, the concessions weren't open, so we were told to take our own snacks for the two intermissions.  So our "Dora the Explorer" backpack contained some juice boxes, Cheetos, and some chocolate chip cookies and blueberry granola bars.  Unfortunately, the "powers that be" had also decided they would not be distributing the official programs, so we were unable to get a keepsake to put in Alisdair's binder.  The tickets, themselves, will have to suffice.

Alisdair ~ at the opera

Isobel says, "Tickets, please ..."
(John is growing a beard!)

It took a little while to "get the hang of" being able to take in everything happening on stage and to read the English supertitles (which were on a screen on the curtains above the stage), at the same time.  However, they were very helpful and increased our comprehension, greatly.

During the final act, John tried to warn Isobel that the soldiers were going to shoot off their guns, so she wouldn't be so surprised at the loud noise.  Afterwards, she said, "The noise made my little bum jump right out of my seat!"

At the conclusion of the opera, Tosca is devastated by the death of her beloved and, in anguish, jumps over the castle wall to her death.  Later, the actors and actresses came back on stage for a curtain call.  Isobel said (loudly) "Aren't you glad that lady didn't break her leg??"  Outside, as we walked across the parking lot, she repeated this to another group of theatre goers.  They were highly amused!

Someone in our party (I'll not mention WHO!) said, "Next time I go to the opera, I'm going to take some earplugs!"

When I asked Alisdair what he saw at the opera he replied.  "Violence!"  It was true, there was a stabbing, a shooting (by firing squad), a two suicides (the aforementioned lady jumping off the wall and another character, an escaped prisoner, who supposedly killed himself off stage when the police discovered him in his hideout).   There was also a scene where Alisdair thought there should be a "viewer discretion advised" warning as Scarpia tries to force himself upon Tosca.

Later, when the main cast members came back on stage for their curtain call, Alisdair exclaimed, "Amazing!  Not a single scrape" ~ a line right out of his "Sir Smashem Uppe" poem from the Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival.

As we headed out-of-town, after the opera, we spotted a "Boston Pizza" on Whyte Avenue, so we stopped and Alisdair and I went in and ordered take out.  As we stood on the street corner, waiting at the crosswalk, we could see steam coming out of the edges of the cardboard box!  Soon we were back in the waiting minivan, heading east while munching on pizza.  Isobel was soon fast asleep, on the middle seat, the crust of her pizza still clutched in her little hand.

"Sweet dreams of the opera ... dancing in their heads!"

Later, when we stopped for gas in Viking, we found Alisdair all curled up in the other seat, with his special Paddington Bear blanket and his favourite Braw Wee Bear.  At some point, I too, succumbed to sleep, as it seemed like no time at all until John was nudging me and saying "Wake up, we're five miles from home!"  I apologized for falling asleep ~ and not keeping him company on the trek home ~ but he said it was all right, that he couldn't count the number of times he'd been on that very road, late at night, coming home from Hardisty in the semi.  It was about 1:45 AM when we pulled up to the house and got the sleepers resituated in their own beds.

Morning came very early for the littlest "opera lover" as she had to attend Kindergarten on Friday.  But, with a little urging, she made it to class on time.

"TOSCA" is the last production of this season, but I'd highly recommend a field trip to the opera to other homeschoolers.  Check out the Education Program.  Then make plans to attend one of the operas staged during the 2011/2012 season.  I'd definitely go back for another performance!

OPERA ~ "TOSCA" ~ By: Giacomo Puccini ~ We're Booked for Thursday Evening!

 A tale of desperate choices embroiled in art and politics concludes the Edmonton Opera season with "Tosca," Puccini’s darkest and most powerful masterpiece.

Puccini – Tosca April 9, 12, 14, 2011 – 7:30pm The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Sung in Italian with English supertitles

Tosca, a fiery and passionate diva, struggles with a deadly decision: will she surrender to Rome’s brutal chief of police to save the man she loves?

As an elementary student (I'm not sure now exactly what grade I was in, but it would have been during the very early Seventies), we were living in the Greater Vancouver area.  Even though it is now almost forty years later, I still remember our school field trips to the opera.  We saw "Carmen" (composed by Georges Bizet) and then the following year, we went again, and saw "Rigoletto" (by Giuseppe Verdi).  These two field trips made a big impression on me ~ the costumes (especially the fancy gowns worn in "Carmen"), the singing, and the vast size of the auditorium and the crowd.

I was excited recently to learn that there was an opportunity to take my own children to see the opera ~ thanks to an Education Program offered by the Edmonton Opera.  They will allow school children (and homeschoolers) to attend their dress rehearsals for a minimal cost ($20 for adults, $12 for Junior or Senior High Students, and $7 for elementary students).  The last production of the current season is "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini and the dress rehearsal is this Thursday evening at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on the University of Alberta campus.  I received confirmation this morning that our ticket request has been granted!

We were hoping that we would be able to go, so last Friday (after the Music Festival concluded) I borrowed two cassette tapes and a booklet about "Tosca" from the North Battleford Branch of the Lakeland Library, so we will be a little familiar with the work prior to attending the show.

And so we are "off to the opera" on Thursday night ... picking up our tickets in the lobby from the "Guest and Media Table" before 6:30 p.m. for a 7 o'clock start.  The performance is 2 hours and 45 minutes long ~ with two intermissions.  Since it is the dress rehearsal, the concession will not be open, so we've been instructed to take our own snacks.

I'm sure this will be another "field trip to remember" for the days and years to come!

VIDEOS ~ Paul Robeson ~ Song #3 ~ "Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho"

We were at the "Battlefords Kiwanis Music Festival" today.  Two of the items on the afternoon program were elementary school choirs.  As I watched the children sing, with such energy and excitement, I thought back to my own experience with a school choir ~ we were living in British Columbia so it was some time between Grade 4 and Grade 7.  We sang the song ~ "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" for a school concert.  I had a strong voice, but no one was ever sure (not even myself) whether I was going to be singing soprano or alto or maybe even an octave lower than the rest!  So, the simple solution, was to stand me in the middle of the bleacher, smack dab in the middle of the two sections!

I'm sure you'll agree, Paul Robeson, does a fine rendition of this traditional Spiritual song.

VIDEOS ~ Paul Robeson ~ Song #2 ~ "Loch Lomond"

How could anyone with a Scottish heritage resist Paul Robeson's version of "Loch Lomond?"  He certainly had a bonny bass voice!

VIDEOS ~ Paul Robeson ~ Song #1 ~ "Old Man River" from "Showboat" ~ 1936

Here is Paul Robeson's rendition of "Old Man River" from "Showboat."  It was filmed in 1936.  



Ol' Man River (Jerome Kern - Oscar Hammerstein II)
Lyrics from the Original Libretto

Dare's an ol' man cal'd de Mississipi
Dat's de ol' man dat I'd lek to be
Whot does he care
iv de world gets trauble
Whot does he care iv de land lev's free.

Ol' man river,
Dat ol' man river
He mus'know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin',
He jes'keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.

He don' plant taters,
He don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants'em
is soon forgotten,
But ol'man river,
He jes keeps rollin'along.

You an'me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' racket wid pain,
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
You gits a little drunk
An' you lands in jail.

Ah gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes'keeps rolling' along.

[Colored folks work on de Mississippi,
Colored folks work while de white folks play,
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset,
Gittin' no rest till de judgement day.

Don't look up
An' don't look down,
You don' dast make
De white boss frown.
Bend your knees
An'bow your head,
An' pull date rope
Until you' dead.)

Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from de white man boss;
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross.

O' man river,
Dat ol' man river,
He mus'know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.

(Long ol' river forever keeps rollin' on...)

He don' plant tater,
He don' plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten,
but ol' man river,
He jes' keeps rollin' along.

(Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song).

You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin an' racked wid pain.
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk
An' you land in jail.

Ah, gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes' keeps rollin' along!

VIDEOS ~ "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" ~ Sweet Honey In The Rock

This song was featured in the book "Coretta Scott" by Ntozake Shange.  Since I'd never heard this "Civil Rights Anthem," I thought I would look it up and share it as a companion post to the book review, which was posted earlier today, in case others were also unfamiliar with it.

VIDEOS ~ "Go Down Moses" ~ "The Harlem Gospel Singers"

In one of the library books that we've read recently, it talked about slaves singing, "Go Down Moses."  I wasn't familiar with the song and so decided to look it up.  We found a rousing version of this Spiritual, sung by the "Harlem Gospel Singers," and felt it was worth sharing:

BOOK REVIEWS ~ "Paul Robeson" ~ By: Eloise Greenfield

A Crowell Biography

Like "Ray Charles," (see previous book review post), the book titled "Paul Robeson" is another "Crowell Biography."  It was written by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by George Ford, and published in 1975.

Until I read this book with Alisdair I was unfamilar with the life and work of Paul Robeson.  And then we "googled" him and both of us were amazed at his extraordinary voice.  We listened to Black Spirituals and even a rendition of "Loch Lomond."  He definitely had talent!  I'm glad Greenfield's book introduced us to this entertainer.

Paul Leroy Robeson
1898-1976

PAUL LEROY ROBESON was born on April 9, 1898, in the church parsonage in Princeton, New Jersey.  His father, William D. Robeson was the pastor of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. Pastor Robeson had once been a slave on a plantation in North Carolina.  At the age of 15, he ran away, escaping to the North, where he went to school.  He married Maria Louisa Bustill after he graduated from college.  Paul was the youngest child in the family, with three older brothers and an older sister.  Greenfield tells us Rev. Robeson was 53-years old, when Paul was born.  She also notes that "Mrs. Robeson was sickly and almost blind.  Even with her thick glasses, she still could not see very well."  But despite all this, the family were delighted with their new arrival.

Paul Robeson encountered discrimination early on.  He was "still a baby when his father lost his position at the church because of an argument among the members."  He found a new way to provide for his family -- by buying a horse, named Bess, and a wagon and hauling away the ashes created by coal furnaces in the Town of  Princeton.

"Sometimes Reverend Robeson or Paul's brother, Reeve, hitched Bess to a large carriage and drove passengers where they wanted to go.  Some of the passengers were students from Princeton University.  More than once, Reeve fought these students for making insulting remarks about black people" (Page 3).  "Reeve taught Paul that he should always stand up for his rights" (Page 4).

"When Paul was six years old, a tragic accident upset the family's happiness.  One day when his mother was cleaning the house, she bumped into the coal stove that kept the house warm.  A hot coal fell on her long dress, setting it on fire, and she was burned to death" (Page 5).  Young Paul missed his Mother very deeply but he grew very close to his Father, as a consequence of this loss.  "His Father taught him to recite and helped him study his homework. . . . He had learned from his Father the importance of always doing his best.  He learned many other things by watching and listening to his father.  He learned to love words -- written words and spoken words.  He learned to be proud of being black.  He learned that people should do the things they really believe in" (Pages 6 and 7).

Eventually his Father became the pastor again.  "Paul was proud when he sat in church and listened to his father's sermons.  He could see that the words meant a lot ot the members of the church.  They liked what Reverend Robeson was saying and they liked the rhythm of his deep bass voice.  Paul sang in the church choir.  He loved music, especially the black music called Spirituals.  Spirituals are religious songs.  They are a mixture of the music that slaves had known in Africa and the music and words they added to it after they were kidnapped to America" (Page 7).

"Paul sang the solos in the glee club.  He liked to sing, and he sang well.  But he didn't think he would want to make his living as a singer when he grew up.  He knew he didn't want to be an actor.  One year his school gave a performance of Othello, a play written almost four hundred years ago by William Shakespeare.  Paul played the part of an African general.  It was the main part, and he was so nervous that he promised himself he would never try acting again.  Years later, Paul would be famous all over the world for his great acting in Othello and other plays, and for his singing.  But he did not know that then" (Pages 8 and 9).

Robeson graduated from high school and won a 4-year scholarship to Rutgers College.  "At Rutgers there was only one other black student.  There had not been many black students at the high school either, and Paul had had problems with some of the white students and teachers.  But worse things happened at Rutgers.  Paul was not allowed to sing in the glee club because there were parties after the musical programs that no black person could attend.  He tried out for football, but the other players did not want a black student on the team.  On the first day that the coach sent them out on the field to practice, one player smashed Paul in the face with his fist.  Paul fell down and the other players jumped on him and punched him with their fists and knees and elbows.  Paul went home with a broken nose.  His shoulder had been knocked out of place, and he had scratches and bruises all over his body.  He stayed in bed ten days.  He was hurting and he was thinking.  He was thinking about whether or not he wanted to try out for the team again.  He hated being hurt.  But he didn't want to be a quitter.  Also, he knew that if he made the team, he would give hope to other young black athletes" (Pages 11 and 12).

"Paul went back to practice determined to make it.  He knew that he was big and strong and that he had been the star player on his high school team.  If the other boys played fair, he could show the coach what he could do.  On the first play, Paul made a tackle, pulling the boy carrying the ball down with him.  Another player ran over, lifted his foot, and stamped on Paul's hand.  The cleats on the bottom of his football shoes dragged all the fingernails off Paul's fingers.  Paul was mad.  The pain and unfairness made him madder than he had ever been.  He picked up one of the players and lifted him up over his head.  Just as he started to slam the boy to the ground, the coach ran up to him.  'Paul, you're on the team!' he yelled.  'I'm picking you for the team!'  Paul put the boy down."

Illustration by George Ford
Page 13

"The Rutgers team was lucky tohave Paul. He became its hero. Newspapers wrote about Paul Robeson, the tall black athlete. They told how he stopped the players trying to run past him with the ball.  They told how he reached up with his long arms to snatch the ball out of the air and take it for a touchdown.  They told how he hurled his body against anybody who tried to stop a Rutgers teammate.  Crowds came to see 'Big Robey,' and almost always in the crowd was Reverend Robeson, proudly watching his son"  (Pages 12 and 14).

Robeson was twice named  "All-American End"

Paul decided to be a lawyer.  Near the end of his third year of his studies, Rev. Robeson died.  "His father would not be in the audience when he graduated.  Graduation day came in 1919 when Paul was twenty-one years old.  He had won many honors in college. . . . He won awards in four sports.  Twice, he had been named All-American End.  This meant that Paul was one of the best college athletes in the United States.  As the student with the best grades in the whole graduating class, Paul was chosen to make the farewell speech.  From the stage, he said good-bye to Rutgers for himself and his classmates" (Pages 15 and 17).

Robeson moved to New York and attended the "Columbia University Law School.  Weekends he played professional football to earn money.  Most of his free time was spent in Harlem, where he lived. . . . Paul saw plays at the Lafayette Theater.  He visited friends and went to parties.  At the parties people loved to hear him sing.  A friend would play the piano and Paul would sing Spirituals.  He sang about slaves being a long way from home and about slave children riding the train to freedom.  The room would grow very quiet as people listened to the sound of Paul's deep, throbbing voice" (Page 17).

"When the Harlem Young Women's Christian Association decided to give  a play, Paul's friends asked him to take a part in it.  Paul played the main part, but this time he wasn't as nervous as he had been in high school.  Many people told him that he was a good actor.  But he did not take it seriously.  He wanted to be a lawyer" (Page 18).

While studying at Columbia University he met Eslanda Goode, who was studying science at the school, and was nicknamed "Essie."  They "fell in love, and one summer day they were married" (Page 18).

The next summer, Paul was asked to act in a play put on by an English theater company.  The couple went and, while overseas, met Lawrence Brown, who became a good friend. Brown ended up accompanying Robeson on the piano and he put many of the Spirituals into musical notation.  The Robesons returned to New York and Paul worked, for a brief period, for a white law firm. When he soon found himself unemployed, Paul was asked to be in some plays.  He began to be paid for his talent and he appeared on the stage more and more.  Greenfield tell us that "in some of the plays, he both acted and sang" (Page 21). Then Lawrence Brown came to New York and he and Paul gave a concert featuring all Black music.  This was "a new idea.  Many people wanted to hear.  They filled all the seats at the theater, and some people even stood up" (Page 21).  At the end of the concert, the audience cheered and yelled for more.  They did not want the concert to end" (Page 23).  Robeson and Brown became a famous team.  They traveled all over the United States and to other countries, including Africa, France, the West Indies, Russia, and England.  Paul also made records and appeared in plays and movies on the radio. 

"Paul Robeson liked meeting and talking with the people of different countries.  He learned their languages and sang their songs.  He especially loved Africa - the people and languages, the stories and poetry, the music and art.  Because he was Black, he felt very close to Africa.  Everywhere he went, crowds came to see him.  Teachers brought their classes to see him as Othello.  People gave parties for him and gave him awards.  Newspapers and magazines wrote about his ability to walk and talk and look like the characters he played.  They wrote about his ability to make audiences cry or feel good.  But Paul could not always enjoy these things.  He saw many problems that made him sad and worried and angry" (Pages 23 and 24).

Robeson began to make speeches at his concerts about the injustices he saw in the world.  "He talked about Black freedom, and good jobs for all people, and peace.  Audiences listened when he talked.  Many people wanted to hear what he had to say.  But not everybody.  Not everybody liked what he was saying.  Some people did not want him to talk about problems.  But Paul had to do what he believed was right.  He often thought of his Father.  He wanted to be strong and as true to his beliefs as his father had been.  He not only continued to speak out, he worked too.  He marched with signs in front of theaters where Black people had to sit in special seats.  He marched in front of the offices of baseball teams that would not hire Black ballplayers.  He went to see the President of the United States to protest the killings of Black people in the South.  he started a newspaper called Freedom.  He helped to start groups who worked for Black freedom.  He wrote articles for magazines" (Pages 26 and 27).

Paul often attended large peace rallies held by the Communists which raised suspicion about him and his political affliations.  Robeson was punished for having Communist friends.  "It became very hard for Paul to find places to perform.  Owners of many theaters, concert halls, and radio and television stations would not allow him to sing or act.  Owners of record stores stopped selling his records.  Some of them were angry with him, and some were afraid they would be punished too.  Sometimes, but not very often, Paul could perform in a church or a park.  When he did, large audiences came to see him.  They came even though they were sometimes attacked by Paul's enemies"  (Pages 27 and 28).

One afternoon Robeson gave an outdoor concert in Peekskill, New York and 25,000 people came to listen.  "A much smaller crowd came to try to keep him from singing.  They yelled and blew horns during the concert.  But Paul kept singing.  At the end of the concert, a group of friends formed a bodyguard for Paul.  They walked him to his car and saw that he left safely.  Then the real trouble began.  Paul's audience was attacked.  They were beaten with clubs.  Men, women and children trying to leave in the buses and cars were hit with bricks and bottles and broken glass.  Empty cars were turned over.  The attackers were not arrested." (Page 29).

The next year, Robeson was barred from visiting other countries.  "Stop talking and just sing," he was told.  But Paul said, 'No.' He said that he had the right to both travel and speak.  He took his case to court for judges to decide.  While the judges were considering his case, Paul could not leave the United States.  But his voice could.  Several times he sang at the line between the United States and Canada.  He stood on a stage in the United States on one side of the line.  His audience sat in a park in Canada, on the other side of the line.  Once, almost a thousand people went to a concert in England. [Note:  Other sources suggest this concert was actually in Wales.]  Paul was not there, but his voice traveled across the Atlantic Ocean by telephone.  The last song he sang was 'Old Man River.'  One line in this song says that a man is tired of living and scared of dying.  Paul changed this line.  He sang, I must keep fighting until I'm dying" (Pages 30 and 31).

Robeson kept "fighting for freedom for all people, and he kept fighting for himself" (Page 32).  After eight years he was able to travel again.  "In the years that followed, millions of Blacks in America began to feel close to their African heritage.  Many of them marched for their rights and for better jobs.  Many Black singers and actors spoke out for Black freedom, as Paul Robeson had" (Page 32).

In April 1973, Paul Robeson was celebrated at a concert in Carnegie Hall.  Unfortunately he was too sick to attend -- but his son, Paul Junior, was there to represent him.  Twenty famous stars were on the program to mark Robeson's 75th birthday.  Robeson wrote a book, about his life, called "Here I Stand."  Robeson says "although Black people cannot yet sing, 'Thank God Almighty, we're free at last,' they can sing, 'Thank God Almighty, we're MOVING !' " (Page 33).

Greenfield's book ends at this juncture in Paul Robeson's life.  From further research we learned that, due to poor health, Robeson retired from public life in 1963. He died on January 23, 1976, at age 77, in Philadelphia.

According another website, "Paul Robeson was the first major concert star to popularize the performance of Negro spirituals and was the first black actor of the 20th century to portray Shakespeare’s Othello on Broadway. As of 2009 Robeson’s run in the 1943–45 Othello production still holds the record for the longest running Shakespeare play on Broadway. In line with Robeson’s vocal dissatisfaction with movie stereotypes, his roles in both the American and British film industries were some of the first parts ever created that displayed dignity and respect for the African American film actor, paving the way for Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte."

VIDEOS ~ Ray Charles ~ Song #3 ~ "In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)"

This is  LIVE performance from 1963 of the Blues/Jazz tune, "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)."  It is mostly instrumental but there are some lyrics, which don't begin until approximately mid-way through the video.

In the evening ... In the evening

I said baby, in the evening

It's lonesome... when your lover is not around...

VIDEOS ~ Ray Charles ~ "Georgia On My Mind" ~ Song #2

The history of this song, according to Wikipedia: 

"Georgia on My Mind" is a song written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). It is the official state song of the U. S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael.^[1] However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or to a woman named "Georgia".

Carmichael's 1965 autobiography, Sometimes I Wonder, records the origin: a friend, saxophonist and bandleader Frankie Trumbauer, suggested: "Why don't you write a song called 'Georgia?' Nobody lost much writing about the South." Thus, the song is universally believed to have been written about the state.

The song was first recorded on September 15, 1930 in New York by Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke on muted cornet and Hoagy Carmichael on vocals. The recording was part of Bix Beiderbecke's last recording session. The recording was released as Victor 23013 with "One Night in Havana".

Frankie Trumbauer had the first major hit recording in 1931 when his recording made the top ten on the charts. Trumbauer had suggested that Carmichael compose the song.

Ray Charles, a native of Georgia, recorded it in 1960 on the album The Genius Hits the Road. It became Georgia's state song in 1979.

Inspired by this blues version, Willie Nelson formally introduced the song to country audiences in 1978 as a #1 Country/Western hit.

Album cover

VIDEOS ~ Ray Charles ~ Song #1 ~ "What'd I Say?"

After we read the book "Ray Charles" by Sharon Bell Mathis, Alisdair searched various websites to find a sampling of Ray's musical work.  He picked out three to share on our blog (which we will post separately).

The first of these is What'd I Say? (Note - There is an advertisement at the beginning of this clip that pops up before Ray Charles, and his band mates, start to play the piano and sing.  We aren't endorsing any products!)