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| Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. |
One of the reading pleasures of the past several years has
been Hellhound on His Trail, the
story about the assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr. and the subsequent international manhunt to find his
killer, James Earl Ray. Ironically,
although J. Edgar Hoover, the
Director of the FBI, had a deep personal hatred of King, and had used the resources of the FBI to harass him and his
colleagues, when it came down to ‘business’ (i.e. finding a killer), the FBI
brought all of its innovative forensic skills and razor sharp investigative
techniques to bear in a remarkable way to catch the flaky, paranoid Ray.
Among the many fascinating details about the assassination
and the days that followed was the somewhat disappointing behaviour of the Rev. Jesse Jackson who
immediately claimed a much more intimate role in the events and of having held MLK in his arms as he died. Not true, apparently.
Yesterday, 15 January, was the birthday of Martin Luther
King and so as a belated tip of the hat to one of the true mahatmas (great souls) of the 20th century, I present Martin Luther King's Blues -
African-American Blues And Gospel Songs On Martin Luther King.
The songs on this collection are living history. Guido
Van Rijn, a Dutch music writer/journalist wrote a book called President Johnson’s Blues which was an
exploration of how Blues and Gospel artists responded to the Presidency of LBJ, and the assassination of MLK and Robert Kennedy, both in 1968.
President Johnson’s Blues
illustrates how African Americans experienced the Johnson presidency. This is
achieved by an analysis of blues and gospel lyrics of the period containing
more or less direct social and political comment. The lyrics of these often
very rare records, which have never been systematically transcribed before, are
vital and hitherto neglected sources of oral history.
When Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded the assassinated President Kennedy he was hailed
enthusiastically by the blues and gospel singers, most of whom had been born in
the southern states and saw an ally in the new Texas president. Johnson’s acute
political skills ensured that the 1964 Civil Rights Bill was approved by
Congress. However, the President was not allowed to reap the benefits of the
Act for long. The violent clash in Selma, Alabama, sped up the passage of the
1965 Voting Rights Act. Next, the plight of the black ghettoes led to
nationwide riots and the president and Rev. King drifted apart. The military
build-up in Vietnam rose dramatically in the Johnson era. Proportionally there
were not more African Americans in Vietnam, but their death rate was thirty
percent higher. Johnson was forced to launch operation “Rolling Thunder” to
intensify air attacks, but felt trapped by the consequences of his decisions
and became severely depressed. People began burning their draft cards, and
criticism of the once popular president became quite outspoken in blues and
gospel lyrics. When Martin Luther King lashed out against the war in 1967, the
president felt betrayed by his former civil rights ally. After the 1968 Tet
offensive, Johnson’s approval rating dropped to 36%. The book also analyzes in
depth the profound effect the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King and
Robert Kennedy had on the African-American community. The resultant awakening
of black self consciousness is dealt with in a final chapter. (http://www.bluesmagazine.nl/president-johnsons-blues-african-american-blues-and-gospel-songs-on-lbj-martin-luther-king-robert-kennedy-and-vietnam-1963-1968-guido-van)
These are indeed rare songs. And we should all be very
grateful to Guido for his fantastic digging and research to put this collection
together. From raging gospel shouts, to classic Chicago blues and everything in
between, this music is a reminder of just why Martin Luther King Jr. will always be a part of African American
identity. Like the tales that grew up around the figures of Jesus and Buddha
and Muhammad, these songs not only
preserve and re-tell history but are an act of the creation of a community’s
history.
Happy Birthday, Martin!
Track
Listing:
01 The
Alabama Bus, Parts 1 & 2 [Brother Will Hairston]
02 The Jail House King [Bob Starr]
03 I Got To Climb A High Mountain
[Johnie Lewis]
04 What Manner Of Man (Was Dr
Martin Luther King) Parts 1 & 2 [The Hewlett Sisters]
05 Hotel Lorraine [Otis Spann]
06 Where Do I Go From Here [Rev.
Julius Cheeks & The Four Knights]
07 A Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. (Stop Looting And Rioting) ["Little'' Mack Simmons]
08 Heaven Will Welcome You Dr.
King [Big Maybelle]
09 Tribute To Dr. King [The
Loving Sisters]
10 Free At Last [Ethel Davenport]
11 The Death Of Dr. Martin Luther
King [Big Joe Williams]
12 Martin Luther King [Tom Shaw]
13 Ballad Of Martin Luther King,
Jr. [Robert Chatman]
14 We All Praise Him [The
Norfleet Bros.]
15 Tragic Story (A Tribute To
Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.) [The Southerners]
16 Why (The King Of Love Is Dead)
[Nina Simone]
17 Our Friend Is Gone [Earl
Gaines]
18 We've Got To Keep On Moving On
[Shirley Wahls]
19 The Non-Violent Man [Bill
Spivery And The Sons Of Truth]
20 Something To Think About [Rev.
Charlie Jackson]
21 Ode To Martin Luther King [Thomas
Walton & The Blind Disciples]
22 Sleep On Dr. King, Sleep On [Elizabeth
D. Williams]
