The Politics of Soul

DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
edited February 2007 in Strut Central
Hi all. I posted this up in the James Brown concert footage thread, but that's sinking like a stone, so I figured I'd give it it's own thread. This is a documentary produced by WGBH called "The Politics of Soul." You can watch in in Quicktime here: http://wgbh.org/article?item_id=3196439&parent_id=345023 You can also listen to the entire concert.And, being new here (in a sense), I'll introduce myself. The name is J*st*n W*ll*nh**pt, and I've run across many of you on the interwebs before in one way or another. I'm 28, live in Boston, and work for WGBH. I've read Soulstrut for a good five years now, but haven't really contributed because I'm fairly "little guy" when it comes to depth of knowledge on the raer, so I tend to just lay back and let you all entertain and edify with your clever quips and endlessly ridiculous race-baiting, peppered with the occasional discussion of great music. Good stuff, and it makes for fun reading.That all said, I'll fade into the background again. But before that, hello to all I know here one some level, whether I've purchased records from you or know you from another forum. From what I know, you're a generally solid bunch of people. Peace.

  Comments


  • what happened to Elise?

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    Good question. Ask her about the one "B-Boy Immaculate" representing the greater Champaign, IL area. That should elicit a response.

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    clockin in


  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    What, no pictures of breakdancing food scientists? Of course, I speak of Ch*ssy.

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    you speak of al*x?


    you lived here? went to school?

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    Went to school with him at UMass Amherst. Bozak crashed on my floor once when he came to visit the erstwhile felon. Funnily enough, I bumped into Bozak on S**ls**k a couple of months ago, too. Small world.

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    Bumped for evening viewing. I should clarify that the concert audio recording is of James Brown's riot-quelling post-MLK assasination Boston performance.
    Here's the site write-up:

    "On April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Boston, a city that was no stranger to racial tension, seemed ready to join the more than 60 other communities across the nation that were rioting. Mayor Kevin White considered canceling all public events in an effort to stem any potential violence.

    Among those scheduled to perform in Boston on April 5 was James Brown, the "godfather of soul." White, recognizing Brown's popularity among black and white audiences, decided that canceling his performance might do more harm than good. WGBH was quickly enlisted to broadcast Brown's performance from the Boston Garden, as city officials urged residents to stay at home to enjoy the concert in their living rooms. Residents complied ??? 2,500 people attended the concert out of an expected 15,000. Aside from a couple of outbursts during the actual performance, James Brown held the city steady and gave one of the most fevered performances of his career.

    Produced several years ago, The Politics of Soul combines WGBH's footage of the concert with Basic Black interviews with then mayor Kevin White, former city councilor Tom Atkins, and other community activists who helped convince city officials that Brown's concert would be an opportunity to promote healing and reconciliation. The Politics of Soul also features an interview with Kevin White by Louis Lyons from Channel 2's TV program Backgrounds and headlines and quotes from local newspapers of the day."

  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    Bumped for evening viewing. I should clarify that the concert audio recording is of James Brown's riot-quelling post-MLK assasination Boston performance.
    Here's the site write-up:

    "On April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Boston, a city that was no stranger to racial tension, seemed ready to join the more than 60 other communities across the nation that were rioting. Mayor Kevin White considered canceling all public events in an effort to stem any potential violence.

    Among those scheduled to perform in Boston on April 5 was James Brown, the "godfather of soul." White, recognizing Brown's popularity among black and white audiences, decided that canceling his performance might do more harm than good. WGBH was quickly enlisted to broadcast Brown's performance from the Boston Garden, as city officials urged residents to stay at home to enjoy the concert in their living rooms. Residents complied ??? 2,500 people attended the concert out of an expected 15,000. Aside from a couple of outbursts during the actual performance, James Brown held the city steady and gave one of the most fevered performances of his career.

    Produced several years ago, The Politics of Soul combines WGBH's footage of the concert with Basic Black interviews with then mayor Kevin White, former city councilor Tom Atkins, and other community activists who helped convince city officials that Brown's concert would be an opportunity to promote healing and reconciliation. The Politics of Soul also features an interview with Kevin White by Louis Lyons from Channel 2's TV program Backgrounds and headlines and quotes from local newspapers of the day."

    hey homey
    welcome aboard
    since you are in the candy factory any chance of you being able to

    1.get that stark reality footage released in it's un edited full length version
    2.get the powers at wgbh to release ALL of those crazy jazz/soul performances onto a dvd series

    dreamin right?







    ps
    thanks the jb stuff is a heavy historical document

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts

    hey homey
    welcome aboard
    since you are in the candy factory any chance of you being able to

    1.get that stark reality footage released in it's un edited full length version
    2.get the powers at wgbh to release ALL of those crazy jazz/soul performances onto a dvd series

    dreamin right?

    Ha! I actually thought the first reaction from the board would be to inundate me with requests to raid the WGBH record archive for minty Stark Reality OGs. Well, I don't know if there are any left, and I don't know how I'd go about procuring them, but if I were to, you all would be the first to know.

    As for the Stark Reality footage, I'll look into it. I'm in Fundraising, and it's a 2000-person organization, so I'm pretty removed from the content producers, but I might be able to get a copy from the archive. If I do, I'll hook it up for one and all. The DVD releases would be far more difficult, but I'll see if I can get some contact info for the folks who handle those things. Multiple appeals from people outside the organization would probably be far more effective than a request from a random dude in Fundraising.

    Thanks for the welcome

  • kalakala 3,361 Posts
    yo sir
    if you bag a few pimp sized donations you are most certain to gain favor and shine with the key decision makers at the top
    you should call martin scorsese's management I am sure they would love to give back to Beantown right now
    hook that shit up dun!!!!!







    paging Monty

  • tirefiretirefire 203 Posts
    Hey I watched the doc yesterday at work, and meant to say how solid it is. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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