I haven't really reflected much, if at all, on the anniversary of MLK's assassination. However, on yesterday's Weekend Edition, NPR ran a terrific piece on a concert given at the Westbury Music Festival on Long Island by my absolute musical idol, Nina Simone, mere days after that infamous event. Specifically, they covered a 13-minute song she performed called "Why? (The King of Love is Dead)". I love Simone, but wasn't previously aware of this song.
The story includes an interview with Simone's brother and organist, and his choked-up remembrance emotionally drove home to me the gravity of the assassination and got me a bit choked up as well. As trite as this may sound, I finally understood and felt something which had until then been mere history on the page.
Highly recommended listening at the NPR story website.
Also highly recommended: Film of Simone Live at Montreux. Volcanic.
1 comment:
Thanks for that link. I'd not heard of Simone before. The song was stunning. I need to get out of my dungeon a bit more. Atlanta Ga is the place to be on the anniversary of MLK's death. It's nothing but in your face remembrance. Which has it's down side. You find yourself just going through the motions saying, "yeah, yeah it's a tragedy so what now?"
Post a Comment