But I Was Cool: Oscar Brown Jr. on Night Lights

[ghost of miles]

This week on Night Lights I kick off Black History Month with "But I Was Cool," featuring the early-1960s music of singer-songwriter and activist Oscar Brown Jr. Brown, the son of a well-to-do South Side Chicago businessman, participated in the labor movement and progressive politics in the 1950s before trying his hand at composing and performing. He wrote a musical, Kicks and Co., and co-wrote WE INSIST! THE FREEDOM NOW SUITE with Max Roach (you can hear Abbey Lincoln performing "Freedom Day" on the previous Night Lights program "Let Freedom Ring" and "Driva Man" on "The Hawk Heads Home"). Brown was a master of hip comedic narrative as well as social protest, often mingling the two together; we'll hear examples of his work from SIN AND SOUL, IN A NEW MOOD, TELLS IT LIKE IT IS, and MR. OSCAR BROWN JR. GOES TO WASHINGTON. The program airs this Saturday evening at 11:05 (8:05 California time, 10:05 Chicago time) on WFIU; you can listen to it live or from next Monday on in the Night Lights archives.

Oscar Brown Jr.'s homepage is located here. There's also an interview with him here.

Next week: "Strictly Romantic," a program of jazz ballads from Don Byas, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Helen Carr, Fred Astaire, and others.

Edited February 4, 2005 by ghost of miles

[ghost of miles]

The Oscar Brown program has been archived.

[ghost of miles]

Up and RIP Mr. Brown. Edited May 30, 2005 by ghost of miles

[sheldonm]

Up and RIP Mr. Brown.

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Listening right now; nice show,David ; RIP Mr. Brown!