"Alabama"
It was written in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963, an attack by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four African-American girls.[1][2][3]
Recorded sixty-four days after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and four days before the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Two were convicted of possession of dynamite and, on October 9, 1963, received a small fine ($100) and a 180-day jail sentence for possessing the dynamite. The jail sentences were suspended.
- Robert Edward Chambliss (1904–1985) (reported as 59)
- John Wesley Hall (1927–1977) (35)
Convicted October 8, 1963, possession of dynamite, receiving a small fine ($100) and a six-month sentence for possessing the dynamite.
- Charles Arnie Cagle (22), a resident of nearby Gardendale (case that identifies Cagle). His father was the Rev. A. M. Cagle.
Others??
- Thomas Edwin Blanton, Jr. (1938–2020)
- Herman Frank Cash (1918–1994)
- Bobby Frank Cherry (1930–2004)
Were, on October 9, 1963, found not guilty and received a small fine and a six-month sentence, the maximum for illegal possession of dynamite.
At that time, Birmingham had experienced 42 bombings since World War II, all unsolved.[4]
Hall, Cagle, and Chambliss were members of the "Cahaba Bridge Boys" (aka "Cahaba River Boys" aka "Cahaba Boys") (a name derived from the Cahaba River)
Reviews
editJazz critic Francis Davis can't substantiate the claim that "Alabama" was a memorial to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.[5]
Selected sessionography
edit| Recording date | Artists | Takes | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(afternoon) |
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Notes on session releases
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Filmography
edit- Malcolm X (1992), directed by Spike Lee. The take used was from the November 18, 1963, session, matrix 90018-5. The soundtrack was released as a CD December 10, 1992, on:
- Quest WPCP-5094
- Qwest Records 1-45130
- Reprise Records 1-45130
- BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. D 100372
Berlin
editFifth day of the Berlin Jazz Festival, November 5, 2016 – a rainy Saturday night, four days before the world woke to learn that Trump had been elected president –
- Williams, Richard (November 7, 2016). "Coltrane's 'Alabama' in the Time of Trump". thebluemoment.com (essay). A blog about music by Richard Williams. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
DeJohnette's sit-in with Trane
editAbout sixty-two years ago – 1962 or 1963 – DeJohnette, at age 19, while still in high school, sat-in with John Coltrane's quartet at the start of the last set, when Elvin Jones was late returning. DeJohnette had been in the audience at a small Chicago jazz club, McKie Fitzhugh's Disc Jockey Show Lounge, operated by Fitzhugh (né Merrill McKie Fitzhugh; 1916–1970). The club was at 6325 South Cottage Grove Avenue, at East 63rd Street, on the first floor of the Strand Hotel, next to the Tivoli Theatre (6323 South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago's South Side near the El's Cottage Grove station. DeJohnette recalled playing "I Want to Talk About You" (by Billy Eckstine), "Mr. PC" (by Coltrane), and perhaps one or two other tunes. He said that the quartet was about to play "My Favorite Things" when Jones arrived and thanked him for filling in.
- About three years later, DeJohnette performed on a gig – from March 2, 1966, through March 6 – in Chicago with John Coltrane at the Plugged Nickel – a small nightclub operated by Michael L. Pierpaoli (b. 1931) in Old Town, Near North Side at 1321 North Wells Street (operated from 1962 through the early 1970s). The band – which included two saxophones and two drummers – included Alice Coltrane (piano), Rashied Ali (drums), Pharoah Sanders (saxophone), and Jimmy Garrison (bass) – two drummers and two saxophonists. And, on one night, Roscoe Mitchell showed-up and sat in.
- Next to the Tivoli Theatre at 6323 South Cottage Grove Avenue, which stood just south of the southeast corner of East 63rd Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue.
- 1 block from the Grand Ballroom (formerly the Frank Loeffler Building) 6351 S. Cottage Grove, at East 64th Street
(opened 1956; closed in the 1960s):
McKee suggested that DeJohnette sit in and Trane didn't question it. He played 2 or 3 tunes, DeJohnette recalled, "I Want to Talk About You" (composed by Billy Eckstine), "Mr. PC" (by Coltrane), and a couple other tunes. We were about to play "My Favorite Things" when Elvin came in and thanked me for filling in for him.
- Later on, on a gig from March 2, 1966, through March 6, I had the opportunity to go back to Chicago with John Coltrane at the Plugged Nickel – a small nightclub operated by Michael L. Pierpaoli (b. 1931) in Old Town, Near North Side at 1321 North Wells Street (operated from 1962 through the early 1970s) – when he had the new band with Alice Coltrane and Rashied Ali and Pharoah Sanders and Jimmy Garrison. That was event more phenomenal, because we had two drummers, two saxophone players. I remember one night, Roscoe Mitchell came and sat in. So musically, mentally, and spiritually, it was one of the most challenging gigs I ever did.
Trane at McKie's
edit- 1962: March 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
- 1962: August 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
- 1962: December 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
- 1963: January 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (December 19 – January 6: 3 weeks)
- 1963: May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
- 1964: February 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
- July 15, 26, 1964
- July 26, 1964 thru
- Temp "Tivoli Theater". JazzAgeChicago. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- Newman, Scott A., PhD (January 12, 1997). "Tivoli Theater". Jazz Age Chicago – Urban Leisure From 1893 to 1945. © 2005 Scott A. Newman, PhD. Retrieved July 6, 2010 (article archived December 5, 2005, via Wayback Machine).
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Roy Wood
edit1937, the year Morehouse College accepted women, Wood graduated.
- "Celebrated Persons Inducted Into Hall of Fame at Wendell Phillips High School". Jet (Re: Roy Wood, inducted). 57 (12). Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company: 18. December 6, 1979. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Google Books.
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- title, p. 47, at Google Books
Marsha Washington George's relatives
edit- George, Marsha Washington (2001). "Part Two – The First Black Disc Jockey – Chapter Two: Roy Wood". Black Radio – Winner Takes All. Xlibris (self-published). pp. 47–49. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Google Books → The author is a niece of Ken Knight (né Adrian Kenneth Knight; 1909–1973), who, in 1947, became the first African-American radio host in the South when he joined WROD in Daytona Beach. The author is also related to Dewey Williad Knight, Jr. (1929–1995) (see article).
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|lay-date=,|lay-url=,|lay-source=, and|lay-format=(help)CS1 maint: postscript (link) ISBN 1401022545 (hardback), ISBN 1-4010-2255-3 (paperback), LCCN 2001-117893, OCLC 50775903 (all editions).
- Georgia State Senate Privileged Resolution – House Resolution 1600, Commending Marsha Washington George, House Read and Adopted March 19, 2018.
- Cutright, Eric J., Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (AW) (June 19, 2008). "Former Sailor Interred at USS Utah Memorial" (Story Number: NNS080619-05). Hawaii: U.S. Navy, Fleet Public Affairs Detachment. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2013 – via Wayback Machine. → Re: Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmy Oberto (né James Edgar Oberto; 1920–2007).
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References
edit- Clark James Simmons, survivor of the USS
- Martinez, Daniel (interviewer); transcribed by Cara Kimura, October 17, 1999 (December 7, 1998). "Oral History Interview #267 – Clark James Simmons (1921–2017)" (PDF). "USS Utah, Survivor" (PDF) (oral history). USS Arizona Memorial National Park Service Oral History Collection. Honolulu. (81 pages). Retrieved May 6, 2021 (Daniel Alan Martinez, born 1949, since 1989 – and as of May 2021 – has been Chief Historian at the USS Arizona Memorial of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument)
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: postscript (link) - "Oral History Interview #392, Reuben John Eichman (1919–2004), USS Utah, Survivor," December 5, 2001
- Other oral histories
- "Vaessen, John B[arth] (Jack) (1916–2018) — Pearl Harbor Survivor," June 1, 1987 U.S. Naval Institute.
- USS Utah Survivor Eye Witness Account – Charles R[ay] Christensen SEA 2/c [1920–1996]," September 9, 1989, Utah State Historical Society, Oral History Project.
- "Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Lee Soucy [né Leonide Benoit Soucy; 1919–2010] – Oral History of The Pearl Harbor Attack," – published September 21, 2015, Naval History and Heritage Command
- "Interview With Mr. Lee Soucy," December 7, 2004, National Museum of the Pacific War
Bibliography
editAnnotations
editNotes
editReferences
edit- Davis, Francis (September 23, 2001). "Music – Coltrane at 75: the Man and the Myths". New York Times, The (print edition includes color photo). Vol. 150, no. 51885. p. 25. Retrieved April 29, 2021. ISSN 0362-4331 (publication); EBSCOhost 5505233 (article).
- St. Louis Globe-Democrat (October 10, 1963). "2 in Birmingham Convicted in Dynamite Charge" (AP). Vol. 88, no. 268 (Main ed.). p. 6A. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Gray, Jeremy (September 30, 2013). "Robert Chambliss, Charles Cagle Identified as Birmingham Bombing Suspects (Sept. 30, 1963)". AL.com. Alabama Media Group, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. Retrieved April 29, 2021 (updated January 14, 2019) (Jeremy Gray is with the The Birmingham News).
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|lay-date=,|lay-source=, and|lay-url=(help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
- McMillan, [Edwin] George (1913–1987) (June 6, 1964). "The Birmingham Church Bomber – Lawmen know who he is. All they lack is the evidence they need for a conviction. Here is the untold story of how FBI Agents and Alabama Police Officers learned his identity – and why they expect to bring him to justice" (PDF). The Saturday Evening Post. Vol. 237, no. 22. pp. 14–19.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|lay-date=,|lay-source=, and|lay-url=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Raines, Howell (February 18, 1980). "Federal Report Says Hoover Barred Trial for Klansmen in '63 Bombing – Finds F.B.I. Director Blocked Prosecution Twice After Agents Named 4 Suspects in Fatal Alabama Blast". New York Times, The. Vol. 129, no. 44497. pp. 1, A12. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via TimesMachine.
- Gordon, Robert [Hamilton] (1938–2007) (October 1, 1963). "Bomb Suspect Still Unknown". Daily Mountain Eagle (UPI). Vol. 4, no. 106. Jasper, Alabama. pp. 1–2. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)