“Any tree could be a hanging tree.'” — Freeman Vines For the exhibition of Freeman Vines’ Hanging Tree Guitars, Music Maker commissioned Dr. Will Boone of North Carolina State University to [...]
“I went to Mr. Jefferson because a guy told me Mr. Jefferson had wood. And he said, ‘Vines, I’m gonna tell you right now. You’re black and I’m white. That wood there came [...]
“Ma told me all the time. ‘The Ku Klux Klan is gonna get you, boy, hanging ’round with that white man.’” — Freeman Vines For the exhibition of Freeman Vines’ Hanging Tree Guitars, Music Maker [...]
“It would do you good to get in the country even if you do have to rough it. You can sit right here and look right at the sky and you can almost feel the Earth turning.” — Freeman Vines For the [...]
For this year’s Black History Month I have decided to write about what I feel is one of the boldest institutions celebrating Black History in America at this time: The National Museum of [...]
Big Ron Hunter and Alabama Slim are returning to France this week. Music is My Home, the project they join in with French Jazz impresario Raphael Imbert, is celebrating its release in Europe with [...]
In 1999 I was sent a newspaper clipping from Texas about a music writer’s chance meeting with Texas bluesman Clyde Langford. Clyde lived in Midway, TX, a small town between Dallas and [...]
Adolphus Bell’s hero was Martin Luther King Jr.; during the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham, Adolphus and his young friends put their lives on the line for Freedom. When Adolphus [...]
I met Rufus McKenzie in Georgia, in a tiny town called Perry, just outside of Macon. This is one of the most magical musical spots in America; folks like James Brown, Otis Redding, Emmit [...]
Our country was colonized by the nations of West Africa under brutal, horrible conditions. Over 12.5 million slaves were brought to America, and it is they who built the huge financial base of [...]
Last year for Black History Month, I dubbed 2014 the year of the folksinger and spoke about the importance of Pete Seeger to music today. I’m not sure how to dub 2015; so much change has [...]
Dr. Burt, from Birmingham, Al, grew up during the historic fight for Civil Rights. His mother was very involved in the movement and worked directly with Corretta Scott King; as a young man he [...]
When I think of Black History month, I often reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Riders down in Birmingham, AL. Over the years Music Maker has had the great pleasure of [...]
Music Maker Artist Willa Mae Buckner in her younger days – all that she taught us will not be forgotten Black History Month is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the [...]
