End of Semester Thoughts

It's that time of year again. Students are turning in their final papers and things are slowing down -- well, in the classroom. Meanwhile, I am grading papers in the basement and listening to a little music. What's better than some old school Delfonics? It helps me to relax and focus while I grade these essays. Soon, I will switch grading papers electronically. I have to get out of the old way of doing things. The future is now -- time has come today! Anyway, let me get back to my music. Oops! A comma splice. 

SUMMER (Original Full-Length Album Version) - War

My time of year...

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

Fort Dupont Park Summer Concert Series 2012

Every year I look forward to the concert series at Fort Dupont Park in Washington, D.C.  It has become widely popular and it tends to be very crowded.  However, there is nothing like the visual of a huge crowd [mostly African American] of people from the DMV getting together to celebrate music from the soul.  It is really a celebration and expression of culture -- American culture.  This years promises to be a nice one.  I hope to see you there this summer.  Concerts are free and opened to the public.

Note:  Shows are every Saturday as indicated below and usually start around 8:00 pm; however, get there before the time because places on the lawn fill up fast.  This is especially true in front of the stage. 

Check out the 2012 lineup:


July 14

• American Noiz': A celebration of American Music featuring a Motown review by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington; Accompanied by Joel Coleman, Dr. Guy Ramsey, Juliet Jones, Victor Provost & Scott McCormick  

July 21:

• Heatwave
• Nu Era  

July 28:

• ROY AYERS
• Secret Society  

Aug. 4:

• DC' Best Funk 'n R&B Night
• In Gratitude: A tribute to Earth Wind & Fire
• Featuring the Graingers, Jared, WaWa LaGrande, Gene McBride
• Mousey Thompson & James Brown Experience
• Jeffrey Walker  

Aug. 11:

• DC's Legends 'n Soul Night
• Al Johnson & his A Team
• Peaches & Herb
• Skip Mahoney & the Casuals
• HALO

 Aug. 18:

• KLYMAXX featuring Bernadette

Sources:  http://www.nps.gov/; i.ebayimg.com

Happy Birthday Roberta Flack

Happy Birthday to Ms. Roberta Flack! She was born on February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She and Donny Hathaway met as students at Howard University. They both got their start singing in D.C. night spots like Mr. Henry's on Pennsylvania Avenue (near Eastern Market). Ms. Flack is such a legend as a soul singer. I would love to see her life on the new soul documentaries like Unsung on TVOne. A beautiful and soulful sister. Happy Birthday and may God bless you with many more. Mr. Donny Hathaway (RIP)~

Fort Dupont Summer Concert Series 2011

The 2011 Fort Dupont Summer line up is here!  It's really too bad that Roy Ayers has not been featured in recent years.  He was the one who everybody wanted to see at the end of the summer series.  His cd, Mahogany Vibe, features a song named after the park.  The song has a nice groove and a Go-Go vibe that is popular in the DC area.  Anyway, I hope to see you at the park this summer. 


Come DC, VA, Baltimore, Delware, everywhere!
2011 lineup:

July 9
The BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS (T.A.P.)
featuring special guest artist CHELSEY GREEN,
and a “ Soul Review”

July 16
REGINA BELLE
Opener, “Smooth” a Luther Tribute

July 23
The MANHATTANS
featuring GERALD ALSTON & BLUE LOVETT
Opener, Marvin Brown

July 30
ZAPP
Opener, Teri S

Aug. 6
The BARKAYS
Opener, FrameWerk

Aug. 13
MANDRILL

Marvin Gaye 'What's Happening Brother' Soul Soldiers video

Fort Dupont Park 2010 Summer Schedule

It just doesn't seem like summer without spending at least one summer evening at Fort Dupont Park in Southeast Washington, DC. It's a beauitful amphitheater and park set in historical Fort Dupont Park. The crowd is always nice and the shows are always a treat. The best thing about it besides the huge friendly crowds is that it is FREE! I've been going since I was a boy and the memories just keep builiding. Check out the 2010 line up listed below:



July 17th
KINDRED THE FAMILY SOUL
Opening: Cops Come Knockin’

July 24th
ROY AYERS
Opening: Brian Lenair

July 31st
“WPFW” NIGHT with HAROLD MELVIN’S BLUE NOTES
Opening: Motown Philly Fantasy Featuring H.A.L.O

August 7th
SUGARFOOT’S OHIO PLAYERS
Opening: Clones of Funk

August 14th
MIDNIGHT STARR
Opening: Be’la Dona

August 21st
SOS BAND
Opening: Kinda Blu


Note:  To find out more about what's going on in and around Washington, D.C. visit the National Park Service website at: nps.gov

Fort Dupont Summer Concert Series 2009

It just doesn't seem like summer without spending at least one summer evening at Fort Dupont Park in Southeast Washington, DC. It's a beauitful amphitheater and park set in historical Fort Dupont Park. The crowd is always nice and the shows are always a treat. The best thing about it besides the huge friendly crowds is that it is FREE! I've been going since I was a boy and the memories just keep builiding. Check out the 2009 line up listed below:

July 18th -- Original "P" featuring Fuzzy Haskins and Grady Thomas (Ken Staton and the James Brown Review)

July 25th -- Ray, Goodman & Brown (Formerly The Moments) ["Pookie Hudson's" Spaniels]

August 1st -- Radio "WPFW" Night W/Blue Magic and Force MD's & The Legends

August 8th -- Rose Royce (Julia Nixon)

August 15th -- Mother's Finest (Derek McKeith Featuring Alyson Williams)

August 22nd -- TBA Special Surprise Guest

Concerts are on Saturdays and they are free and open to the public.

Note: I hope that the Special Guest on Aug 22nd is the all time Ft Dupont Park favorite, Roy Ayers. He was always the highlight every year. What happen to you Mr. Ayers? Come back! :)

Source: nps.gov

Resistance Music

In the American system of slavery, African Americans had many ways to resist the dehumanizing conditions that existed. The songs they sang (known today as Negro Spirituals) had a purpose: they were sung to express their grief, petition to their God, and soothe the pain of bondage. Most of the songs were made up from stories they heard in the Bible, but they all seem had the same underlining plea – Freedom.

Here is an example:

Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel?
Deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel
Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel?
They why not every man?

He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den,
Jonah from the belly of a whale,
The Hebrew children from the fiery furnace,
Then why not every man?

Well, the ancestors were eventually released from bondage and entered into the American Aparthied system of Jim Crow. In these modern times, African Americans have marched, staged sit-ins, and fought up to the very moment Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the United States. So, what are we resisting today? What is the new resistance? What has the majority of us in bondage (mental or physical)? What do our resistance songs sound like? In the 60s and 70s we had resistance music: Sam Cooke sang that A Change [was] Gonna Come; James Brown screamed, Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm proud; and in 1989 a group of Hip Hop artist like Chuck D, KRS One, and MC Lyte came together to protest Black on Black crime with their hit, Self Destruction. Honorable mention: All of Bob Marley's music. Can you think of any resistance songs of today? Is is all "Underground?" Help us out:

Tired of Men: The Blogging Truth

Malcolm X once called the media “the most powerful entity on earth.” He continued that “they have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power.” Yesterday, I received an email from my friend in the UK, NML. She shared with me how the publication, The Daily Mail Newspaper, ran an article about her blog. Now, this sounds great on the surface doesn’t it? I mean, this brings attention to your writing and hard work as a blogger, right?

Well, in this case the newspaper printed negative things about her blog and what NML described as all out lies. On her blog, Tired of Men…, NML talks about the everyday life of a black woman living and dating in the UK. Well, The Daily Mail printed an article titled, “Don’t get mad, get E-venge!” describing her as a bitter woman seeking revenge or “e-venge” on an ex-fiancé. She was listed along with a few other lady bloggers as basically being vindictive vixens of the blogging community. To make matters worse, they didn’t even mention the names (urls) of the blogs so that readers can decide for themselves who is bitter.

I’m writing this post in support of NML because she’s has never come across as bitter in the two years or so that I’ve been reading her blog. I’m usually laughing because of her great sense of humor when I visit. Besides, in the past she talked about different encounters on her blog, and not just one person. These days, it’s all about her family and precious little one. So, in the words of Charles Wright, NML “express yourself…and whatever you do, do it good.” If you want to read more about the article, check it out on her website. Enjoy your weekend. Peace~

Poem 2: Rev Gaye

Marvin Gaye (Born: Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.) (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)

Reverend Gaye



Owoooooo!

You recognize that shout?
That’s Marvin Gaye’s signature HOW SWEET IT IS – COME GET TO THIS – AFTER THE DANCE shout

I used to hear grown men and women shouting it on hot innercity streets, but they didn’t always have the Blues;

Sometimes their arms and fist would be stretched towards the Sun as their hips would grind in unison with the melody

Owoooooo!

I remember grownups singing LET’S GET IT ON as they danced the slow drag and their bodies cast blue shadows on the basement wall

Marvin would stretch forth his voice and bless the assembly singing, CAN I GET A WITNESS
as the inebriated congregation would shout from their parking lot pews…

Owoooooo!

You recognize that shout?
That’s Marvin Gaye’s signature HOW SWEET IT IS – COME GET TO THIS – AFTER THE DANCE shout

And he did it all just to keep us satisfied

By: Stephen Bess

Happy Birthday, Mr. Gaye

Love is Here: Music Meme

I came across a great meme on Geoffrey Philip’s blog. Geoffrey asked selected bloggers to name five songs that they would have in their iPod If they were stranded on a desert island. Now, I’ll admit that this is a very difficult selection process; however, I was able to come up with some old favorites that I can listen to over and over again.

First on my list of songs is, Oh happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. This is a song that I’ve loved since I was a child. It’s a song that expresses joy and perpetual gratitude to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for washing our sins away -- Oh Happy Day!

Second on my list is the song, Love is Here, a beautiful 70s Soul ballad sung by a group out of Philadelphia called, The Futures. This was also my wedding song. There were only a few people at my wedding who knew the song because the song is over 30 years old. Also, over half of the people attending my wedding were from Africa and the Caribbean. Some of them know American Soul music very well, but Love is Here is a rare gem.

Third on my list is one of my favorite songs of all time, Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. It’s just a feel good song that I love to sing. My favorite part of the song is the whistling at the end. Yeah, that's everyone's favorite part.

Fourth on my list is by the 70s group, War. The song is called, City, Country, City. It’s an instrumental and a classic in my book. I love the way it starts off with slow, crooning harmonica and tapping bongos.

The Last song on my list is a hip hop classic called, Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force. It just takes me back to when I was a teenager and a self proclaimed B-Boy in the 1980s. Man, I was funky fresh! I had moves that you wouldn’t believe. Now, I can barely turn around too fast without spraining something.

Honorable Mentions:

Any song from Marvin Gayes classic album, What’s Going On and some Brenda Fassie.

Anyway, this concludes my list of songs I would carry with me on a desert island. Now, I just need to purchase an iPod. I know. I’m so behind the times.

Warm Thoughts: Summer of 1975

"Looking back on when I was a little nappy headed boy,
then my only worry was for Christmas, what would be my toy.
Even though we sometimes would not get a thing, we were happy with the joy the day would bring...I wish those days could come back once more, why did those days ever have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more, why did those days ever have to go? Cause I loved them so." ~ Stevie Wonder

By the way, I am the taller of the two little boys. I remember that day well. I also remember that the shirt I was wearing was new and my grandmother purchased some flip-flop sandles to keep my feet cool. It was the Bess Family Reunion in the Summer of '75. Stevie Wonder's hit song, I Wish, would not become a hit until 1977, but it was so appropriate for this photo. I mean, just look at that image of me, little Stevie; life was so simple then. Peace~

Fort Dupont Park: Old Skool Saturday Nites In DC

Washington, D.C. has many attractions that are east of the river. Wait. I should clarify by saying that this is east of the Anacostia River. Specifically, east of the river in DC means the gentrified remains of George Clinton’s version of “Chocolate City” (i.e. The Hood). Some of you may not realize that DC had/has a thriving Black community that has been here since the turn of the 20th Century. My family has been here for about four generations. The city is changing now that some poor blacks are being forced to leave because of new developments (condos, cafes, etc.) and others are choosing to leave for more yard space in the suburbs. Besides, we do love our BBQ’s and family gatherings. Then, there is Fort Dupont Park, The rock on the ridge located in the heart of Southeast Washington. For the past 30 years, Fort Dupont has been a place where family, friends and lovers can go to listen to the best in Jazz, Blues, Soul, and R&B. The best thing about it is that it’s FREE!!!! Yes, FREE and sponsored by the National Park Service. We had a nice spot not too far from the stage. I was accompanied by my wife, aunt, uncle, and extended South African Family. We had plenty of fruit, chips, water, and juice between us. We had a great time and the weather was nice once that hot azz sun began to set.


Highlight: The best musical moment of the show (besides my wife shouting “Yes!” to one of the performers on stage) was the performance by DC’s own William DeVaughn. You should have seen him! He was dressed to the T with a sky (hat) to match. He looked like a straight up “Mack.” He sang his now ghetto anthem, “Be Thankful.”

You know the words, “…Diamond in the back sun roof top…digging the scene with gangsta lean Hooo Hoooooo oooh!!!”

The entire crowd was singing along and dancing. I love Fort Dupont Park! It’s one of the few remnants of the DC that I remember growing up in old DC (A.K.A Chocolate City).

This is the remaining line up for Summer 2006:

Fort Dupont Park

CONCERT TIME - 8:00 P.M.

July 8

Regina Belle

Opening: Exquisite

July 15

WPFW Night “D.C. Juke Box Review”

Featuring Al Johnson, William DeVaughn, Sir Joe Quarterman, Mark Green & Captain Fly & Friends Opening : Hardway Connection

July 22

The Impressions

Opening: Style Band

July 29

Midnight Star

Opening: Clones of Funk

August 5

Enchantment

Opening: Jeffrey Walker Band

August 12

Blue Magic

Opening: Phaze 2

Click the following link for Fort Dupont's Summer Schedule and other concerts in the Washington Metro Area

Poetry: Sweet Soul

My first thought this morning was of her. She massaged my thoughts while stimulating the frontal lobe of my brain before I fell asleep last night.
You see, she was sending chills through the chasm of my mind down to my brain stem
affecting my heart rate and breathing
leaving me visibly shaken and wanting more of her sweet offerings
Sweet Soul
She told me that I should find a love my own, but I told her that I didn't want to lose her love because loving her is so easy....I mean easy like Sunday morning
Sunday was the day I was born so instead of going to church I kneel down at her alter and give her all the praises
hoping to get caught up in her rapture
Sweet Soul
I constantly convey my thoughts to her and she responds with, "La La." She said that means she loves me. She went on to say that there isn't much that she wouldn't do for love even though it has caused her so much pain, but that she would do any thing to keep me satisfied. So, as my tears began to fall like the rain the melody came to an end. We cried together and she asked if I'll still love her tomorrow. "Yes," I replied. You're all I need to get by. You are my world. You are Soul Music. Ain't understanding mellow?

Click on my confetti at the top for more sweet, dynamite Soul!