Grover Washington Jr. - Make Me A Memory (Sad Samba)

This is a beautiful live video. "Winelight" was one of my first purchases when I first started listening to Jazz. The other was George Howard's "Asphalt Gardens." Both artist passed away at an early age. Nevertheless, I love that smooth 80s Jazz music. It brings back such pleasant memories. Enjoy.

!!RANDY CRAWFORD "STREET LIFE" LIVE!!

MC Spotlight: Bill Withers

Today's MC spotlight is on one of the greatest American singers of all time, Mr. Bill Withers.  He is one of my favorite singers and one of my biggest influences as a writer.  Although he is categorized as an R&B singer, Bill Withers is simply and completely an American songwriter, composer, musician, and singer in every way.  He was born Williams Harrison Withers on July 4, 1938. He was the youngest of six children in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia.  He joined the Navy at the age of 18 and served for nine years.  Afterwards, in 1967 he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in music.  He was successful!

First, I cannot imagine being on the same ship as Bill Withers. I was in the Navy and none of the guys in my division could sing anywhere close to Bill Withers.  Mr. Withers has the type of lyrics that speak to the soul.  Some of his greatest hits such as Lean on Me, Ain't No Sunshine, Use Me, Just the Two of Us, Lovely Day, and Grandma's Hands were rhythmic, poetic, and they possessed the magic of a great American novel or short story.  One of my favorite songs, which spoke on the subject of the Vietnam War was I Can’t Write Left Handed. Listen to this song and perhaps you will understand how poignant and ingenious this song is, and how Mr. Withers addresses the atrocities of war without being judgmental.

Overall, Bill Withers is still one of the greatest singers of our age.  In 2009, the documentary Still Bill, which chronicles the career of this talented singer, was produced by directors Damani Baker, Alex Vlack.

Note to Mr. Bill Withers:

Mr. Withers, one of my regrets in life is that I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing you perform live, but I have treasured your music and lyrics since I was a boy.  I have to thank my parents for having your records. I was born the year you made your move to Los Angeles; 18 years later, I would also go on to join the Navy.  I’ve served on active duty for 3 years and went on to college where I served in the Naval Reserve for five years. Today, I still serve but as a teacher.  I also write.  You are one of my greatest influences as a writer.  Meaning, I try to capture and record in my writing how life has touched me, and I try to keep my words simple, poetic, and true.  I am often tempted to show the world just how deep my vocabulary can be, but then I think of your lyrics along with the writings of the late and great Paul Laurence Dunbar and the phenomenal Langston Hughes. So, I keep it simple and from the heart just as I feel you wrote your lyrics.  Sir, I salute you.  Relax and know that you have touched so many lives with your music.  In particular, you have profoundly touched my life. I thank you.  Peace and love to you and yours.

Interview with Buster Jones: CLICK!

Sources:  pbs.org, wikipedia, YouTube

Headed South to Montevideo

In November, I will visit the country of Uruguay in South America. This is not a planned trip or vacation; I was invited as part of an effort to introduce students in Uruguay to African American culture. Specifically, I will teach students about the African influence in American culture as it pertains to music. This comes easy to me because it stays near the front of my thoughts; however, my challenge is that most of the students speak limited English. I’m attempting to brush up on my Spanish in an effort to communicate as effectively as possible. Otherwise, I will depend on the universal power of music, and the supreme power of God, who will lead and guide me on this venture.


You may giggle, but I took my time to inform the Morphological Confetti community because I wanted to make sure I had my plane ticket. This entire trip is funded by the arts council, but I had to be perfectly certain that my ticket was in hand. I truly give thanks to God for this opportunity, but I would also like to thank one of my readers in Uruguay (Analia) for mentioning my blog to a group of teachers. She mentioned that my blog, Morphological Confetti, focuses on African American culture and language and the rest is…me getting on a flight to Uruguay in November.

As for Uruguay, its population is mostly of European descent. According to Wikipedia, 95% of Uruguayans are of European ancestry from Spain and Italy. There are nearly 4% of Uruguayans who are of African descent. They are my West African cousins who were brought there as slaves around the 16th century. It is estimated that 30 million Africans were shipped to the Americas, and the 6 million who survived the journey entered mainly through ports such as Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, Uruguay.

I will also enter Uruguay through Montevideo under much better circumstances. I won’t be there long enough to experience the fullness of the culture, but I will soak up as much as possible. I’m particularly interested in Candombe, a rhythmic drum sound that arrived in Uruguay with the Africans. I will give you more once I return – God willing. Peace~

Sources:  unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com, candombe.com, wikipedia, and youtube

Dancing Memories

I want to share with you today my memories of dance. It must have happened when I was an infant watching my parents dance. No, I don’t remember seeing my parents dance, but I can just imagine how beautiful the moment must appear to a child. For the first time, the child is witnessing the movement of limbs and hips in harmony with the beat of the music.


As older children, my brothers and I would play for most of the day in front of our apartment building, but sometimes my mother would gather us in the house with our friends and turn on her record player. The song that comes to mind in memory is “Car Wash” by the R&B group, Rose Royce. I remember we would all take turns dancing in the middle of the circle. When my turn came up, I would close my eyes and just allow my body to flow with the rhythm of the music. I remember the exhilarating feeling and laughing as my mother cheered me on, "Go head Stevie!" The moment left an indelible impression on my mind. It influenced how I interpret movement and music. It helped me to understand the marriage between the two and the beauty that it can impress upon a child's mind. "Happy music! Music on my mind..." ~The Blackbyrds

Painting: William H. Johnson Jitterbugs Series ca. 1941

Savannah Churchill: Sho' Nuff Blues

Savannah Churchill, the original Queen of Rhythm & the sho nuff Blues. Savannah was born in Colfax, Louisiana on August 21, 1920 from Creole parents. Jobs and opportunities were scarce in places like Colfax, Louisiana so the Churchill family joined the African Migration North. The family packed their things and moved to Brooklyn, New York where Savannah would grow up to become a fine young lady. Savannah’s experience started out just like any experience for African American New Yorkers in the 1930’s. This was during America's Great Depression. However, it was business as usual for many of the black immigrants from the Southern United States. Struggle was their life's story and the Blues was their soundtrack.

Savannah married young, but the marriage was cut short when her husband died in a car accident. The tragedy left the 20 year old Savannah with two children to support on her own. Savannah set out to find work and the year was 1941. While many black women of the time would’ve searched for work as a domestic Savannah decided to pursue a career in singing. She felt she had a good chance to make it in the business. Besides, she was young, pretty, and she possessed a beautiful, smoky alto voice. So, Savannah set out and played gigs in different spots around town. Soon people began to know about this Creole sensation from Brooklyn by way of Colfax, LA. By 1942 Savannah had recorded two hit singles with Beacon Records. The songs were the risqué “Fat Meat is Good Meat” and “Two Faced Man.” The success from these songs and the exposure launched Savannah Churchill’s singing career. Her other hits included the songs, “I Want to Be Loved,” “Once There Lived A Fool,” and “Ain'tcha Glad I Love You.”

Savannah enjoyed success throughout the 1940s and '50s singing all over the country including an invitation to sing in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1954. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike a second time. The year was 1956. Savannah was singing on stage one evening when a drunken man fell from a balcony above her. The man’s full weight fell on top of Savannah; this incident, coupled with fate, would end the career of a beautiful and talented singer. Death, however, did not arrive in an instant. According to Savannah Churchill’s granddaughter, Audrey Churchill, Savannah Churchill developed cancer of the esophagus from years of cigarette smoking. She stated:

“While she did suffer for quite some time as a result of the injury from the man falling on her during her performance, she did not die from that injury. My grandmother was a smoker, as were most people during that time, and she developed cancer of her esophogus, which permanently ended any possibilities of singing. The operations for treating the cancer meant she was in and out of the hospital many times over the years. However, later she fell down the stairs and broke her hip, which landed her back into the hopital where she developed pneumonia and died. She was survived by her mother Hazel Roberts, who continued to live in the house well into 1990's.”

Savannah Churchill died on April 19, 1974 at the age of 53. Savannah Churchill, the original Queen of Rhythm & the sho nuff Blues.

Note: To read more about Savannah Churchill's life and family please visit the websites and comments of this post.

Sources and Photo credit: http://www.group-harmony.com/, Audrey Churchill, and Wikipedia.org

I Know You Got Soul

Hello family! It's always great to end the week on a good note. A Soul note. I was just checking out Geoffrey Philp's blog and he has this great post on Soul Music. I'm going back to comment. Geoffrey is asking the question, "Where Have All the Men of "Soul" Gone?" Click to find out more.

Photo image courtesy of: www.sunstudio.com

Thinking About The 80's

“Back in the days when I was young…I’m not a kid anymore but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again.” ~Ahmad
I’m going to take you back to 1985 when I was in the twelfth grade. A senior! I was one of the coolest brothers in high school. Yes, I was cool. You should've seen me! I was sportin’ my favorite burgundy Lee jeans with all white, shell top Adidas. You know I had to have my striped burgundy and grey fat shoelaces and steel taps on my heels so that you could hear me coming down the hallway. If I was outside I had on my burgundy and grey pull over windbreaker and cap with the words, “Stevie B” written in gold across the front. As I said before, I was cool. *smile* My best friends were Roby Rob, “Kiterio” Jay-rapping-Al, and AJ (aka Boot). My music was R&B, DC Go-Go music and the beginnings of Hip-Hop on a national level. In DC we were listening to Go-Go legends like Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers, Experience Unlimited (EU), Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, Pump Blenders, Shady Groove, Ayre Raid and the list goes on.

I was sent to North Carolina by the time I reached high school and folks in the Carolinas were following the New York music scene. Eventually, so was I. We were jamming to Afrika Bambaataa & The Zulu Nation, U.T.F.O and taped cassettes of Kool DJ Red Alert on WBLS. I remember the first time that I heard “The Show” with Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh. I can’t describe how I felt when I heard it for the first time. It was amazing!

I can’t forget R&B! I was seriously on some New Edition. However, some of my favorite R&B artists were from the UK. I actually didn’t know that there were black people in the UK until I saw them on television (Solid Gold) speaking with a British accent. I was like WOW!! I’m thinking of groups like 5 Star , Musical Youth, and Loose Ends (Hanging on Strings, Contemplating)…“I’m not your play thing.” Yes, those were the days! Well, I’m going to stop here. I just wanted to share with you all and reminisce about a time that is gone forever, but remembered. Peace~