Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, and Teddy Hill at Minton’s Playhouse in New York, 1947
Young Quincy Jones.
(via bleekgilliam)
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma -which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice; and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ~ Steve Jobs ~
Jimi Hendrix. What a talent. So much charisma. Swag on 1000. Another unfortunate member of the 27 Club.
Word.
The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay; the thinker must think for truth, not for fame. ~ Du Bois ~
Happy Birthday to W. E. B. Du Bois, historian, sociologist, author and one of the co-founders of the NAACP.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. ~ W. E. B. Du Bois ~
A beautiful mind indeed.
“All I Do” ~ Stevie Wonder ~ I have many, but this is one of my favorite songs ever. And Stevie is one of my fav artists ever…Aaah, Stevie is for lovers:)
Marvin and his lady loves.
Huddie William Ledbetter or “Lead Belly” was a legendary American folk and blues singer born in Louisiana. Allegedly, he got his name after surviving a bullet to the stomach.He wrote hundreds of folk and blues standards during his career and his music has been covered by everyone from The Beach Boys to Nirvana. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain performed Lead Belly’s version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” in 1993 on MTV Unplugged in New York.
Lead Belly was known for his violent temper which often landed him in prison on charges ranging from carrying a pistol to homicide. He had an extensive criminal record and served several stints in prison and on a chain gang; his longest sentence being 7 years for murder in the state of Texas. He was convicted in 1918 and pardoned in 1925 after serving his 7 year minimum and writing a song appealing to Governor Pat Morris Neff.
In 1930 he was back in prison, this time for attempted murder after a knife fight with a white man Louisiana. It was here, at Angola prison, that he was “discovered” by John Lomax and his son Alan Lomax while serving a 3 year stint. The Lomaxes and Lead Belly appealed to Louisiana Governor Oscar K. Allen for his early release and it was granted in 1934. His reputation as “a convict who had sung his way out of prison” created such a buzz that Time magazine did one of it’s first newsreels on him. In the spirit of true branding Lead Belly was often told to wear his jail outfit to promote his album. Criminal record, prison, being shot…Why does this sound so familiar? There’s truly nothing new under the sun.
“Mr. Hitler” (1942) ~ Lead Belly ~
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz ”Malcolm X” being wheeled out of the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 after being shot. Malcolm with two of his daughters (bottom). Never Forget.