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... ARRIVED THIS WEEK ...
There have been no shortage
of musical references
in the more than six thousand
pages of this blog
But the album cover that
has appeared quite frequently
has a double-autograph
from the only Goddess
who has ever employed me
The title is
Nina Simone Sings Billie Holiday
and it was signed by Nina
in 1983
And the caller was
her niece and legal representative
We talked for thirty minutes
with Joyce Stroud doing
most of the listening
So ecstatic was I
after the call,
my feet did not come back
to earth until AT LEAST
forty-eight hours
after we spoke
Something I did not tell
Ms. Stroud had to do with the site
of the Summer of Soul
music festival
•
It is often referred to as
"The Black Woodstock"
with the primary difference being
that it was thoroughly organized,
brilliantly executed
—all according to plan—
but no one wallowed
in the mud
and
none of the performers
sang off-key
The site of SUMMER OF SOUL
was
in Harlem
My Father had lived
directly across the street
from the park
and my Mother
was a frequent visitor there
before they were married
It is NOT inconceivable
that their first child
—my beloved sister, Lynda—
was conceived there
•••
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