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vendredi 27 septembre 2013
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Malcolm X
Born Malcolm Little in 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm was the son of a Baptist preacher who was a follower of Marcus Garvey. After the Ku Klux Klan made threats against his father, the family moved to Lansing, Michigan. There, in the face of similar threats, he continued to urge blacks to take control of their lives.
Malcolm's father was slain by the Klan-like Black Legionaries. Although he was found with his head crushed on one side and almost severed from his body, it was claimed he had committed suicide, and the family was denied his death benefit. Its disintegration quickly followed: welfare caseworkers sought to turn the children against each other and against their mother, from whom Malcolm, then six, was taken and placed in a foster home. Mrs. Little underwent a nervous breakdown from which she never recovered.
After the eighth grade, Malcolm dropped out of school, headed for a life of crime. He wore zoot suits, straightened his hair to affect a white look, and became known as "Detroit Red." When twenty-one, he was sentenced to prison for burglary and there encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, popularly known as the Black Muslims. Muhammad's thesis that the white man is the devil with whom blacks cannot live had a strong impact on Malcolm. Turning to an ascetic way of life and reading widely, he began to overcome the degradation he had known. The argument that only blacks can cure the ills that afflict them confirmed for Malcolm the power of Muhammad's faith. He became a loyal disciple and adopted X–symbolic of a stolen identity–as his last name.
After six years Malcolm was released from prison. Later, he became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, his indictments of racism and his advocacy of self-defense eliciting admiration, as well as fear, far beyond the New York black community. Whites were especially fearful, recoiling from his sustained pronouncements of crimes against his people. While most contrasted him with Martin Luther King, Jr., with whose philosophy they were much more at ease, white college students found ugly truths in his searing rhetoric of condemnation. Malcolm, however, grew increasingly restive as the Nation of Islam failed to join in the mounting civil rights struggle and became convinced that Elijah Muhammad was lacking in sincerity, a view painfully validated by corruption at the highest level of the organization. For his part, Muhammad seemed threatened by the popularity of Malcolm, whose influence reached even into the respected Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Malcolm's assertion that President John F. Kennedy's assassination amounted to "the chickens coming home to roost" led to his suspension from the Black Muslims in December 1963. A few months later, he left the organization, traveled to Mecca, and discovered that orthodox Muslims preach equality of the races, which led him to abandon the argument that whites are devils. Having returned to America as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, he remained convinced that racism had corroded the spirit of America and that only blacks could free themselves. In June 1964, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity and moved increasingly in the direction of socialism. More sophisticated than in his Black Muslim days and of growing moral stature, he was assassinated by a Black Muslim at a rally of his organization in New York on February 21, 1965. Malcolm X had predicted that, though he had but little time to live, he would be more important in death than in life. Foreshadowings of his martyrdom are found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The almost painful honesty that enabled him to find his way from degradation to devotion to his people, the modest lifestyle that kept him on the edge of poverty, and the distance he somehow managed to put between himself and racial hatred serve, in that volume, as poignant reminders of human possibility and achievement.
Influenced largely by Malcolm, in the summer of 1966 members of SNCC called for black power for black people. Their lack of power was the foundation of Malcolm's charge that they were denied human rights in America. His clarity on this matter, as America continues its retreat from its commitment to full freedom for his people, has guaranteed for him pride of place among black leaders.
George Breitman, ed., Malcolm X Speaks (1965); Peter Goldman, "Malcolm X," in Dictionary of American Negro Biography (1982); Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965).
Malcolm's father was slain by the Klan-like Black Legionaries. Although he was found with his head crushed on one side and almost severed from his body, it was claimed he had committed suicide, and the family was denied his death benefit. Its disintegration quickly followed: welfare caseworkers sought to turn the children against each other and against their mother, from whom Malcolm, then six, was taken and placed in a foster home. Mrs. Little underwent a nervous breakdown from which she never recovered.
After the eighth grade, Malcolm dropped out of school, headed for a life of crime. He wore zoot suits, straightened his hair to affect a white look, and became known as "Detroit Red." When twenty-one, he was sentenced to prison for burglary and there encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, popularly known as the Black Muslims. Muhammad's thesis that the white man is the devil with whom blacks cannot live had a strong impact on Malcolm. Turning to an ascetic way of life and reading widely, he began to overcome the degradation he had known. The argument that only blacks can cure the ills that afflict them confirmed for Malcolm the power of Muhammad's faith. He became a loyal disciple and adopted X–symbolic of a stolen identity–as his last name.
After six years Malcolm was released from prison. Later, he became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, his indictments of racism and his advocacy of self-defense eliciting admiration, as well as fear, far beyond the New York black community. Whites were especially fearful, recoiling from his sustained pronouncements of crimes against his people. While most contrasted him with Martin Luther King, Jr., with whose philosophy they were much more at ease, white college students found ugly truths in his searing rhetoric of condemnation. Malcolm, however, grew increasingly restive as the Nation of Islam failed to join in the mounting civil rights struggle and became convinced that Elijah Muhammad was lacking in sincerity, a view painfully validated by corruption at the highest level of the organization. For his part, Muhammad seemed threatened by the popularity of Malcolm, whose influence reached even into the respected Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Malcolm's assertion that President John F. Kennedy's assassination amounted to "the chickens coming home to roost" led to his suspension from the Black Muslims in December 1963. A few months later, he left the organization, traveled to Mecca, and discovered that orthodox Muslims preach equality of the races, which led him to abandon the argument that whites are devils. Having returned to America as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, he remained convinced that racism had corroded the spirit of America and that only blacks could free themselves. In June 1964, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity and moved increasingly in the direction of socialism. More sophisticated than in his Black Muslim days and of growing moral stature, he was assassinated by a Black Muslim at a rally of his organization in New York on February 21, 1965. Malcolm X had predicted that, though he had but little time to live, he would be more important in death than in life. Foreshadowings of his martyrdom are found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The almost painful honesty that enabled him to find his way from degradation to devotion to his people, the modest lifestyle that kept him on the edge of poverty, and the distance he somehow managed to put between himself and racial hatred serve, in that volume, as poignant reminders of human possibility and achievement.
Influenced largely by Malcolm, in the summer of 1966 members of SNCC called for black power for black people. Their lack of power was the foundation of Malcolm's charge that they were denied human rights in America. His clarity on this matter, as America continues its retreat from its commitment to full freedom for his people, has guaranteed for him pride of place among black leaders.
George Breitman, ed., Malcolm X Speaks (1965); Peter Goldman, "Malcolm X," in Dictionary of American Negro Biography (1982); Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965).
L’histoire d’amour entre BB King et Lucille
Parfois lorsque je regarde les statistiques du blog, je remarque qu’il y a souvent des recherches sur Lucille, la guitare de BB King.
Je me suis donc mis à mon clavier et j’ai préparé ce qui suit… Aucun
autre partenariat de musique a une histoire aussi longue que celle de la légende du blues BB King et sa guitare bien-aimée nommée « Lucille ». Aujourd’hui, le modèle Gibson BB King Lucille
est une magnifique reine en ébène avec des accessoires en or portant le
nom du roi sur sa tête surmontée d’une couronne. Au fil des années il y
a eu de nombreuses “Lucilles”, y compris une femme réelle qui a inspiré
le King s’est pour le nom de sa guitare. La saga Lucille commence avec
cette femme durant l’hiver de 1949. (voir L’article)
La même année, le King passe à la guitare électrique et commence sa carrière discographique. Il enregistre son premier single « Miss Martha King »
avec une guitare solid body (corps plein), dont je n’ai pas les
informations sur la marque et le modèle mais, au début des années 1950
il devient un guitariste de guitare Gibson pour la vie.
Durant cette époque il a été photographié avec une Gibson Les Paul
Golden Top et une Gibson hollowbody L-5CES. Lorsque la Gibson
semi-hollowbody est arrivée sur le marché, le King est passé à celle-ci afin d’atteindre une plus grande performance en avant de son orchestre.
Le King a fait son chemin à travers la famille des
Gibson « ES ». En tournée comme en studio d’enregistrement, il a utilisé
plusieurs séries de ES-335-S, ES-345-S et enfin ES-355-S jusqu’en 1980. Le King a commencé à utiliser la ES-355 dès qu’elle a été introduite en 1958.
Le modèle ES-335 reste encore aujourd’hui, le plus apprécié de la série
ES. En 1980, juste avant que Gibson cesse la production régulière de la
ES-355-S, la première Gibson BB King Lucille a été construite.
L’évolution de la guitare BB King Lucille
La Lucille a évolué au fil des années, mais les modèles de premières générations ont été établis dès le modèle “ES-355TD” avec le “T” pour “Thinline”
(Guitare semi-acoustique à corps mince) et le “D” pour ses micros
doubles. La guitare était également munie de deux prises de sortie
stéréo et mono. Avec les six positions du bouton rotatif Varitone en
évidence sur son corps, la Lucille et la ES-355-S peuvent ressembler à la “ES-345”, mais il y a des différences importantes. La BB King Lucille possède un corps en érable plutôt qu’en acajou pour un meilleur tonus et il n’y a pas de “trou en F”, ce qui rend la guitare mieux adaptée pour des volumes plus élevés.
Aujourd’hui, il existe deux modèles de BB King Lucille. La Gibson Custom Shop est la version phare avec une finition ébène brillant, des accessoires en or, sortie stéréo et sortie mono, de somptueuse reliure et le logo « BB King » incrusté richement dans la tête. Le deuxième modèle est une Epiphone (sous marque de Gibson), plus modestement garnie que sa cousine.
BB King Lucille au fil des années
Avec le 30e anniversaire du modèle Lucille, il y a encore un évènement historique à célébrer dans la carrière du King. L’album que beaucoup croient être le meilleur du King, “Live at the Regal” a été mis en marché il y a 45 ans en novembre 1965. Enregistré l’année précédente à Chicago au “Regal Theater” où le roi était un habitué et un héros local,
cet album est l’un des plus grands albums live jamais enregistré. À la
hauteur de sa superbe voix et sa “BB King Lucille” sous le bras, BB King
dit que l’album reste une référence pour quiconque cherche à comprendre
ce qu’est la magie du blues en live.
B.B. King
 |
Riley B. King dit B. B. King est un
célèbre guitariste/chanteur de blues né le 16 septembre 1925 à Itta Bena
(état du Mississippi) aux États-Unis d'Amérique.
Il a enregistré plus de 50 albums, et
obtenu plusieurs Grammy Awards ainsi qu'une Presidential Medal Of The
Arts de la main du président américain en 1990.
Bien plus que marcher sur la voie de son
idole T-Bone Walker, il a su créer son propre son, et un toucher
inimitable semblant donner une réelle personnalité à sa guitare, qu'il a
d'ailleurs nommée Lucille. BB king raconte que lorsqu'il était jeune
musicien, Il jouait dans un bar lorsque une bagarre éclata, la bagarre
fut telle que quelqu'un renversa le poêle qui chauffait l'endroit et le
bar prit feu. Paniqué, tout le monde prit la fuite mais arrivé dehors
B.B King se rendit compte qu'il avait laissé sa guitare à l'intérieur!
Sachant qu'il lui faudrait plusieurs mois pour réunir les $30
nécessaires pour la remplacer, le futur roi du blues retourna dans le
bar en flammes pour retrouver sa guitare et en ressortit in-extremis.
Par la suite il apprit que la bagarre avait été déclenchée à cause d'une
fille appellé Lucille. Il décida d'appeller sa guitare Lucille pour
toujours se souvenir de ne pas agir stupidement dans la vie.
B. B. King a notamment collaboré avec Eric Clapton et le groupe U2. Le bar du même nom à Moscou lui est dédié. BBKing est par ailleurs le frère de Fenton Robinson. |
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