Prison terms and more performing In 2001, Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment in a New York State prison for possession of cocaine. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the Blazing Arrow album by Blackalicious. He was released on parole in 2003, the year BBC TV broadcast the documentary Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be … [Read more...] about Thursday Open Thread: Gil Scott Heron
Education
Tuesday Open Thread: Gil Scott Heron
Recording Career Scott-Heron began his recording career in 1970 with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Bob Thiele of Flying Dutchman Records produced the album, and Scott-Heron was accompanied by Eddie Knowles and Charlie Saunders on conga and David Barnes on percussion and vocals. The album's 15 tracks dealt with themes such as the superficiality of television and mass … [Read more...] about Tuesday Open Thread: Gil Scott Heron
Friday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Performers
Toni Elling is a black American burlesque performer and said to be the inspiration for Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll. Elling was born Rosita Sims in 1928, and was one of the premier ecdysiast of her day. Her stage name Toni Elling is an anagram of her friend and mentor’s name Duke Ellington. According to Elling, she had a friend named Rita Revere that was a dancer who encouraged … [Read more...] about Friday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Performers
Thursday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Performers
Shouldn't Marilyn Monroe be called the white Joyce Bryant, since Joyce was around first... I digress Joyce Bryant (born October 14, 1928) is an African-American singer and actress who achieved fame in the late 1940's and early 1950's as a theater and nightclub performer. With her signature silver hair and tight mermaid dresses, she became an early African-American sex … [Read more...] about Thursday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Performers
Wednesday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Perfomers
Dora Dean was born in Covington in 1872, and got into show business as the "Black Venus." She was born as Dora Babbige; Dean was evidently her stage name. Her initial job in show business was as a "statute girl" - essentially striking dramatic poses and looking pretty. She eventually took on a partner, a tap dancer named Charles E. Johnson, and together they … [Read more...] about Wednesday Open Thread: Black Burlesque and Vaudeville Perfomers