A collection of rare grooves, heavy hitters, funky breaks and psychedelic sounds from the vault that has inspired September 70's music.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Nancy Dupree - Ghetto Reality - James Brown
Nancy Dupree - Ghetto Reality (1970)
Nancy Dupree - Ghetto Reality - James Brown (US, 1970)
Nancy Dupree initially found her elementary school music students in Rochester, NY resistant to participation in class. Once she dropped the standard literature (which asked "Mr. Bear" to "come and play") and began composing music that bore relevancy to contemporary society and to their very tuned-in and grownup interests, she found they immediately took to performing. Her songs addressed, for example, the contributions icons James Brown and Jelly Roll Morton (aka "Docta King") made to society, the intangible assets each child naturally possessed ("What do I have? Guts...heart...and soul") and fighting for civil rights ("I want my freedom; I want it now"). Not only did singing about meaningful issues in real musical styles reveal the immense talents the students had, but it gave all a critical lesson in empowerment.
The above text is taken from the Smithsonian Folkways website. This is an utterly compelling and brilliant album. I have put up 'James Brown' for your listening pleasure, I would urge you to find the whole album and give it a listen.
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