In the late 1940s a left-wing organization called People's Songs used their music as a battle cry for civil rights, civil liberties, and world peace. They were inspired by Woody Guthrie, led by Pete Seeger, and sponsored by Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Paul Robeson among others. Many members of the group were involved in musical and political activities that spanned twenty years and encompassed sweeping changes in the American political arena. --Jacket
This deluxe eBook edition of Harry Belafonte's remarkable memoir includes nearly eighteen minutes of original video—Mr. Belafonte talking about his first meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr. . . . his friendship with Sidney Poitier . . . the making of “We Are the World” . . . and much more—the bonus song “Jump in the Line” from the companion album Harry Belafonte—Sing Your Song: The Music; and the book's photographs compiled as a slide show. Harry Belafonte is not just one of the greatest entertainers of our time; he has led one of the great American lives of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Now, at last, this extraordinary icon tells us about it all—his poverty-ridden childhood in Harlem and Jamaica; his meteoric rise to become one of the world’s most popular singers, breaking down racial barriers that no one had broken before, achieving equal popularity with white and black audiences; his lifelong, passionate involvement at the heart of the civil rights movement and countless other political and social causes. Along the way he’s befriended many beloved and important figures in both entertainment and politics—Paul Robeson; Eleanor Roosevelt; Sidney Poitier; John F. Kennedy; Marlon Brando; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Robert Kennedy; Nelson Mandela; Fidel Castro—and writes about them with the same exceptional candor and insight with which he reveals himself on every page. As both an artist and an activist, Belafonte has touched the lives of countless men and women. With My Song, he has found yet another way to entertain and inspire us. It is an electrifying memoir from a remarkable man.
From the beloved host and creator of NPR’s All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts comes an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of iconic and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brownstein, Smokey Robinson, and Jeff Tweedy, among others—published in association with NPR Music. Is there a unforgettable song that changed your life? NPR’s renowned music authority Bob Boilen posed this question to some of today’s best-loved musical legends and rising stars. In Your Song Changed My Life, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), St. Vincent, Jónsi (Sigur Rós), Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Cat Power, David Byrne (Talking Heads), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Jenny Lewis, Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney), Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jackson Browne, Valerie June, Philip Glass, James Blake, and other artists reflect on pivotal moments that inspired their work. For Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, it was discovering his sister’s 45 of The Byrds’ “Turn, Turn, Turn.” A young St. Vincent’s life changed the day a box of CDs literally fell off a delivery truck in front of her house. Cat Stevens was transformed when he heard John Lennon cover “Twist and Shout.” These are the momentous yet unmarked events that have shaped these and many other musical talents, and ultimately the sound of modern music. A diverse collection of personal experiences, both ordinary and extraordinary, Your Song Changed My Life illustrates the ways in which music is revived, restored, and revolutionized. It is also a testament to the power of music in our lives, and an inspiration for future artists and music lovers. Amazing contributors include: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney, Portlandia, Wild Flag), Smokey Robinson, David Byrne (Talking Heads), St. Vincent, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), James Blake, Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Sturgill Simpson, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Cat Power, Jackson Browne, Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Philip Glass, Jónsi (Sigur Rós), Hozier, Regina Carter, Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, and others), Courtney Barnett, Chris Thile (Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers), Leon Bridges, Sharon Van Etten, and many more.
From the publisher of the beloved Water Bugs and Dragonflies comes a new picture book to support grieving children: My Heart Sings a Sad Song. The heart-warming artwork holds the reader tenderly through the ache of grief, as a young rabbit remembers a loved one who has died. Hospice chaplain Jennifer Fargo Lathrop says of My Heart Sings a Sad Song: "The illustration of talking to 'my heart' is especially meaningful, offering children a model of how to engage their emotions and their memories."
The reading of poetry has always been one of my favorite pastimes. Certain poems over the years have touched my heart and given me the understanding of many of my emotions. Writing poetry has allowed me to release these emotions, fears, and dreams as well as trying to comfort others. I began writing when I as around ten years old and it was a great comfort to me as a young woman. My hometown is Morgan City, Louisiana. We now live in Cade, Louisiana. I have three grown daughters and a great husband, all of whom have taught me how special life can be. They have endowed me with ten grandchildren, who keep me young and make me feel so alive. This book of poetry and short story is dedicated to my family with all of my love.
“I see that as such a powerful testimony, since you’re not just singing a song but also telling a story, and it’s your own story.” Bennie Lucille Williams was born in Marshall, Texas—a city split not into two, she would argue, but into three. First, of course, there was racial segregation, but growing up with dark skin Bennie saw a second split within her own black community: a split between those who were lighter-skinned and those who looked like Bennie. There, sitting at the feet of former slaves, Bennie learned the songs that would carry her through her life. “Dem songs,” is what the woman she knew as Aunt Clay called spirituals they sang to her, and those songs would first carry her into music and then into teaching. Bennie recalls working with black, white, and later desegregated church choirs, teaching school choirs with forced busing mandates, and directing public performances. Woven into those stories are the loves and heartbreaks of a vivid and compassionate woman’s life—bittersweet at times, but never half-hearted. Bennie’s love for her music and for her students touched lives from Marshall to Dallas to Denver. Later, when she lay at home with a Do Not Resuscitate sign on her front door, she received calls from former students whose lives she had touched decades before, returning to her the love she had always given them.
Mama, Sing My Song is a beautiful children's book about God's big love, giving families affirming words to shower on their kids, revealing the bright joy, deep care, and unending love they have in their hearts. Amanda Seibert, founder of Mama Sing My Song, the popular company that creates personalized songs for parents to gift to their children, knows that the words we speak over our little ones can shape them for years to come. When we look at our children, we see those one-in-a-million grins, their crinkled noses, and sweet eyes looking back at us, which soften our hearts. God designed those babies uniquely, and Mama, Sing My Song is a celebration of all that is lovely and true about your child. Let your little ones know they are safe, loved, and cherished in your family. This affirming picture book for 4- to 8-year-olds celebrates the love between parent and child; encourages kids to embrace God's love for them; provides kids the security and love they're seeking; and highlights all that is good in our little ones. With snuggly illustrations of animal families, Mama, Sing My Song features unique presentation pages to write your little one's name, plus space to journal special messages and a prayer for your child; includes a free downloadable song; is a great gift for baby showers, Mother's Day, Christmas, and birthdays; and has a beautifully designed cover, perfect for displaying in a nursery or in a gift basket. Hold your little ones a little closer as you share this timeless, heartfelt love note with them.
A sample of poems, songs, rap and short quotes from a larger collection of work. Each one is introduced with a short story about the author and the inspiration behind the poem that follows.
The first of two volumes to be published, in This is my Story, This is my Song, Leonard S. Buxton recounts the first half of his engaging life and his long career in ministry. He has written a very entertaining personal account of his upbringing as the son of a fire-and-brimstone Evangelical preacher during the Depression, the beginnings of his political consciousness through WWll, his college life and the strict mores of the 1950s, and moving from parish to parish with his young family during the turbulent social change of the 1960s and early 1970s. As a professor of psychology at Claflin, a black university in South Carolina, Leonard recalls his activism within the church—and literally in his own backyard—to break down the resistance to desegregation and to support the civil rights movement. This book is filled with evocative photographs and colorful firsthand history, its joys and heartbreaks: Studebakers and VWs, the Red Sox and Yankees, teen hang-outs in drugstores, music, dramatic productions, and church camping, the serious social stigma of divorce, the illegality of adultery, the scourge of polio, the loss of a child, group ‘encounter sessions,’ George McGovern, Benjamin Spock, Kent State, burning crosses . . . A man devoted to building congregations as a pastor, psychologist, parish counselor, teacher and activist, Leonard depicts characters and narrates events with remarkable acuity. This book is a rich reflection on his experiences, written with candor and humility, and observing people and events through the kind lens of his dedication to serving others and his evolving faith as a Methodist minister. To quote one of Leonard’s aspirations for this memoir, “For those still casting around an unclear future, this may say ‘Take heart; life will be full of surprises.’”
My Story, My Song is the heartwarming memoir of the late 88-year-old Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, mother of Good Morning America coanchor Robin Roberts. It details pivotal moments in Mrs. Roberts' life, revealing how faith in God gave her strength and hope to face the challenges of life. Good Morning America viewers came to know and love Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts. For many, the heartfelt connection began the day after Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast. They eagerly watched as Robin stood among the remnants of her hometown and talked about her desperate search for her elderly mother, who had ridden out the storm in her Mississippi home. Once she knew that her mother was safe, Robin admitted she was not surprised to learn that even as the winds howled and floodwaters rose, Lucimarian Roberts sang hymns. As she was working on her memoir, Lucimarian still was able to recite the lyrics to hundreds of hymns and spirituals first learned in her childhood church. She credited hymns for helping her, a black woman born in 1924, live faithfully through the turbulent times of the Great Depression, segregation, the civil rights struggle, and the loneliness and constant moves that came with being married to a U.S. Air Force officer. Robin writes, "Folks are drawn to Mom's humility, wisdom, and spirituality. Countless times I've been told, 'Your mother should write a book.' Reflections from Robin on her mother's life and faith cap each chapter. Now you will be able to gain insights from Lucimarian Roberts' amazing life. "God has brought the most wonderful and sometimes the most unlikely people, of all ages and races, into my life to encourage and guide me on this spiritual journey of life," Mrs. Roberts said with bright eyes. Highlights of My Story, My Song include: Inspiring stories of how a mother's love and character affect generations to come A tribute to the power of hymns and music to lift the heart out of loneliness and grief Honest childhood stories of poverty and alcoholism and the strength to overcome Insight into life as an African American during segregation and beyond Examples of the powerful influence of mentors and role models Encouraging stories of aging with grace Reminders of the impact of integrity, character, and love You will be inspired and uplifted by this memoir of a woman who faced the best and worst of times with faith, dignity, and grace.
