This essay originally appeared as the introduction to a Sweet Honey in the Rock songbook. INTRODUCTION On February 28, 1927 in Memphis, Tennessee, the blind sanctified singer Mamie Forehand recorded a refrain based on Psalm 81:16. In this passage of scripture the poet and musician ...
Emmy Award-winning Director Stanley Nelson and his film crew went on the road with Sweet Honey In The Rock during their 30th anniversary tour, filming concerts and conducting interviews in New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Seattle. Nelson answers ...
PART I: THE LIGHTNING STRIKE OF EGO In the opening paragraph of his monumental essay on the first Ali-Frazier fight, Norman Mailer calls ego "the great word of the twentieth century." But the magnitude of ego has long endured. Ego has probably been the great ...
AMERICAN MASTERS Online presents an extended interview with "Quincy Jones" filmmaker Michael Kantor. Q: What did you learn while making an AMERICAN MASTERS program about Quincy Jones? A: There were two stories that I will never forget. One happened to make it into the show, ...
By filmmaker Marilyn Mellowes, director of American Masters: Julia Child! America’s Favorite Chef. Scooping up a potato pancake, patting chickens, coaxing a reluctant soufflé, or rescuing a curdled sauce, Julia Child was never afraid of making mistakes. "Remember, if you are alone in the kitchen, ...
American Masters Online sat down with Julia! America's Favorite Chef filmmaker Marilyn Mellowes.
For nearly sixty years, Alwin Nikolais was modern dance’s pioneer of multimedia. Among his best known performances are "Masks, Props, and Mobiles" (1953), "Totem" (1960), and "Count Down" (1979). Nikolais would often present his dancers in constrictive spaces and costumes with complicated sound and sets, ...
Ella Fitzgerald's early life Ella Fitzgerald's first dream was to be a dancer. Growing up in New York, she was inspired by "Snake Hips" Tucker, studying his serpentine moves and practicing them constantly with friends. Then, one fateful night at the Apollo Theater in 1934, ...
