Who would serve in WW2, then take acting classes with Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, and Bea Arthur while singing to pay for those classes at night with Charlie Parker, Max Roach, and Miles Davis as his back up band? Who would help organize the Freedom March in DC and explain to his good friend Martin Luther King Jr. the importance of using the media to help influence the cause? Who would help organize “We are the World,” the multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa famine relief, while also criticizing both Democrats and Republicans for their lack of real efforts to help the poor and marginalized citizens of our country? Harry Belafonte, that’s who.
“The Fox” was released in 1954 on Belafonte’s first album Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites. It’s a playful, traditional English folk song and one that helped put Belafonte on the map. We lost Belafonte this week, but his legacy cannot be ignored. He was not only one of the first crossover talents to move from the nightclubs to Broadway, and then onto the silver screen, but he did it while breaking racial barriers, standing up for humanity, and winning every award imaginable.
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After breaking his leg as a child, Harlem born Gilberto Miguel Calderon gave up stickball for the congas. He never considered them a profession until he attended a Tito Puente concert in 1950. A chance meeting with Puente after that show led to a lifetime friendship and the motivation for Calderon to leave law for a career in music.
Four years later, and the Joe Cuba Sextet (Calderon was actually of Puerto Rican descent) was born. They would become a landmark act in the Latin music scene, with their two influential hits “El Pito (I'll Never Go Back to Georgia)” and “Bang! Bang!”. “So What?” was recorded and released in 1965 on the Secco record label. It’s a deep track from Joe Cuba’s 14th album Comin’ At You, and is an excellent example of just what his Sextette could do. We lost Calderon in 2009 but his influence on the Latin “boogaloo” sound from New York will never be forgotten. Spring is in full swing and perfect timing for this week’s hidden gem.
A Passing Fancy was a Canadian group based in Toronto, Ontario and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist James Telfer and keyboardist Brian Price. After they had a string of singles released by Columbia Records in 1967 with moderate success, Price left the group to pursue a career in dentistry and Telfer was fired by their management team. “I believe In Sunshine” was written by music engineer Greg Hambleton and was their highest charting Canadian single. It was added onto their only full-length album which was released a year later on Boo! Records. We lost James Telfer in 2009, but this wonderful song will hopefully live on as a celebration of all things sunny. |
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November 2024
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