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Spirituals have been described both as the literature of American slavery and as the jewels that the slaves brought out of bondage. Today, the harmony, percussive precision, and evangelical fervor of gospel music have made it a hit all around the world. This program spotlights two venerable groups-The Sterling Jubilee Singers and The Four Eagle Gospel Singers-and climaxes with a Sunday gospel quartet celebration. Additional performers include the...
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English
Description
In this program, narrated by actress Pam Grier and featuring Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, interviews with academic experts plus contemporaries such as Studs Terkel, Martin Duberman, Pete Seeger, Lloyd Brown, Glyn Roberts, Mark Naison, John Lewis, and Oscar Brown, Jr., bring to life a complex man whose political views overshadowed his achievements in the eyes of many Americans. The program presents Paul Robeson-star athlete, world-renowned singer...
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English
Description
The social tensions underlying America's postwar prosperity were reflected in the broken rhythms and dissonant melodies of bebop-and in the troubled life of Charlie Parker. Nicknamed "Bird," Parker demonstrated ideas and techniques as overwhelming for musicians of his generation as Louis Armstrong's had been a quarter-century before. But Parker wasn't the only bebop innovator. Dizzy Gillespie tried to popularize the new sound by adding showmanship...
Language
English
Description
As the Depression dragged on, jazz came as close as it ever would to being America's popular music. Now it was often called swing, and, as this program illustrates, it became the defining music of a generation. Suddenly, jazz bandleaders were the new matinee idols, with Benny Goodman hailed as the "King of Swing," while teenagers jitterbugged just as hard to the music of his rivals: Tommy Dorsey, Jimmie Lunceford, Glenn Miller, and the mercurial Artie...