(Editor’s note: This tape was reviewed by Adrian Whicker. The editors gratefully acknowledge his invaluable assistance.)
To read the Tape Summary, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1, Pt. 2)
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Song 1: “I’ll Take You There” by the Staples Singers
Crowd: Cheers
(Shortwave)
Tape Edit
Song 2: “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross
Female singer: Love Hangover. Have you ever had a hangover? Have you ever had a hangover?
Wooo! Ow! (Seductive breathing and moaning)
Crowd: Calls out
Female singer: If there’s a cure for this
I don’t want it
I don’t want it
If there’s a cure for this
I don’t want it
I don’t want it
I think about it all the time
Thinking only makes me smile
And say, hey
I don’t wanna shake it
(background singers) I don’t wanna shake it
If there’s a cure for this
I don’t want it
I don’t want it
If there’s a remedy
I’ll run from it
Run from it
I think about it all the time
Never get it out of my mind
‘Cause I love you
I’ve got the sweetest hangover
I don’t wanna get over
(Song continues with repetition of lyrics)
Singer: (Calls out) OK, I wanna ask the audience to get up. Clap your hands. Get up on your feet and get with it.
(Song continues with repetition of lyrics)
Crowd: Applause
Tape Edit
Song 3: Unknown, possibly original
Female singers: If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
Why don’t you? (Find real love)
Find real love (find real love)
Offer it all
Find real love, find a better place to live
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
Why don’t you? (Find real love)
Find real love (find real love)
Offer it all
Find real love, find a better place to live
You’ve got that real love, deep down in your heart
You don’t even have time to hate one another
You’ve got that real love, real peace, deep down inside
Together, we can abide
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
Why don’t you? (Find real love)
Find real love (find real love)
Offer it all
Find real love, find real (unintelligible)
Cause you’ve got that real love, deep down in your heart
You know you don’t have to hate one another
You’ve got that real love, real peace, deep down inside
Together we can abide
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
If you want the world to be a better place to live in
Why don’t you? (find real love)
Find real love (find real love)
Offer it all
Find real love, find a real place to live
Emcee: Can we have a big hand for them? And now we’re gonna bring to the stage Brother [Edward] Moore and Shirley [Hicks]. They’re gonna do “Rollin’” and we’d like to show our togetherness with our seniors and our young people, this is what the (unintelligible) concerns.
Female: 5, 6, 7, 8 (claps off)
Song 4: “Proud Mary” by Credence Clearwater Revival
Had a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
Never lost a minute of sleeping
Worryin’ ’bout the way the things may have been
Big wheel keep on a turnin’
Proud Mary keep on a burnin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
If you come down to the river
Bet you gonna find some people who live
You don’t have to worry if you have no money
The peoples on the river are happy to give
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
Cleaned a lots of plates in Memphis
Pumped a lot of `panes in New Orleans
I never saw the good side of the city
Until I hitched a ride on a riverboat queen
Big wheel keep on turning
Proud Mary keep on burning
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
If you come down to the river
Bet you gonna find some people who live
You don’t have to worry if you have no money
The peoples on the river are happy to give
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
I had a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
Never lost a minute of sleeping
Worryin’ ’bout the way the things may have been
Big wheel keep on a turnin’
Proud Mary keep on a burnin’
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on a river
Crowd: Cheering and laughing
Emcee: Now we’re gonna (unintelligible)
Voice in crowd: Julius Evans
Emcee: The mighty JT drill team. There’s gonna be a little stomping and (unintelligible)
Song 5: Unknown, possibly original
Evans: Run to the sunset, hand in hand
A lonely beach
The warmth of her laughter
This is the place and time of levity
If not for now, forever after
When you think of the beginning
When the love was true
The joy and the sorrow
Of feelings that are true
Today we’ll be together
Forever gold
Love, love becomes impressions in the diary of your mind
Love becomes a precious gem that’s so hard to find
When you think of feeling
All the spaces in your life
Lonely places in your life
You think of her
Keep on runnin’
In your mi–i–ind
You think of her
And when you stand to the firelit invitation
Of her eyes
You hold her near
You make sweet love to the sound and the depths of your (unintelligible)
You know how to touch each other in your body, mind, and soul
There is no greater emphasis
Than when love has taken hold
Today we’ll be together
Forever gold
Love becomes impressions in the diary of your mind
Love becomes a precious gem so hard to find
And when you think of feeling
All the spaces in your life
Lonely places in your life
You think of her,
Keep on runnin’ in your mind
Keep on runnin in your mind
Keep on runnin in your mind
Keep on runnin in your mind
Keep on runnin in your mind
Keep on a runnin in your mind
Tape Edit
Song 6: “Love’s in Need of Love Today” by Stevie Wonder
Evans: –It’s that love’s in need of love today
Don’t delay, send yours in right away
You know that hate’s going round, hate’s going round
Hate’s going round, and it’s trying to destroy,
But you’ve got to, I’ve got to, we’ve got to, yeah
Get it together
It’s up to you because love
Oh, love today
Don’t delay, send yours in right away
Ooooh-ooooh
Ohhh, oooh
Song 7: “Moms Mabley Blues” by Moms Mabley [likely Bertha Cook]
Moms Mabley: (Sings)
Every day, every day, every day I have the blues
Every day, every day, every day I have the blues
You got me worrying and crying, ‘cause it’s you I hate to lose.
(Speaks) You know, everybody is always talkin’ to me about (unintelligible word), because I like young men, but yeah, I sure do. But you know what happens, and the reason I feel that way, my mother did always told me, “honey, if they’re big enough, they’re old enough.”
Crowd: Laughter
Mabley: And once I took my grandmother into confidence, and I said to her, “Grandma, I wanna ask you something.” She was 106 then. I said, “How old is a woman before she quits really liking men?” Grandma said, “Don’t ask me, I never did know anybody that old.”
Crowd: Laughter
Mabley: A funny thing, I was on my vacation just a few months ago, and while I was there, it was just a little town, you know. While I was there, they had an initiation, the lodge had an initiation, a big thing, everybody in town was talking about it. But there were two mens that joined this lodge, that they were a little afraid about it, they were wondering what in the world they were going to do, because these men always (emphatic) told everything–
Voice in crowd: I know that’s right, that’s right.
Mabley: (emphatic) –everything. So, sure enough, the grandmaster told them, said, “Now look, nobody is to tell any of the secrets. If you do, it’s gonna be too bad.” So those fellas, poor souls, they couldn’t keep it, they told some of the secrets, that got back to the lodge, so the members decided to take `em out. So one evening late they took `em out to a place where there was a septic tank. They said, now you won’t talk after tonight and we know it. Get in! Oooooo, ooooo! They hated to get in there, but they started walking. Mess kinda got up to their knees, kinda got up here kinda got up here. One fella looked at the other and said, “Now, y’all don’t make no damn ripple.”
Crowd: Laughter
Song 8: “Call It Stormy Monday” by T-Bone Walker
Mabley: (Sings)
They call it stormy Monday, Tuesday’s just the same
They call it stormy Monday, Tuesday’s just the same
Now Wednesday is so bad, Thursday’s oh so sad
(Speaks) While I was there, was another little thing that happened. We didn’t live too far from the cement plant, and so every day the fellas would come and go up and down the road. Well, there was two Mexican fellows, and uh, there was one of them, Poncho, every day at lunchtime, he’d be going somewhere in a hurry. So Santiago goes, “Look fella, every lunch day you’re in a hurry, where you going?” He said, “Today I go get hook from the hookworm.” When he come back, loaded down with filth. Next day he went, Gonzales– Santiago said to him, “Poncho, what you going to get today?” He said “Oh, I get butter from the butterfly.” So, then when he come back he was loaded down with butter, two buckets of butter. The next day, Santiago say, “Poncho, what you gonna do today?” He said, “Oh, I go get pussy from the pussy willow.”
Crowd: Laughter
Mabley: Santiago, said, “Wait Poncho, I’ll go with you!”
(Sings) The Eagle flies on Friday
Saturday I go out to play
Come Sunday morning I fall on my knees and pray
Oh, I say, Lord, have mercy, Lord have mercy on me
Lord, have mercy, Lord have mercy on me
You got me worrying and crying, my heart’s in misery
(Speaks) Can I leave this one with you? I got to lay this on you. They had a town drunk back there. He was a wino. One night he fell, broke that bottle of wine. He got up, staggered and said “Oh my God, I hope this is blood!”
Crowd: Laughter
Emcee: One of the lead singers of a fabulous group called Black Velvet, they call him Biggum Dig’em, Mr. Poncho Johnson singing “The Greatest–“
Song 9: “The Greatest Love of All” by George Benson
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me
I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I lived as I believed
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found that greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
Is the greatest love of all
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll lived as I believed
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Was happening to me
I found that greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
Is the greatest love of all
And if, by chance, that special place
That you’ve been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love
Crowd: Applause
Emcee: Now we’re going to bring to the stage, but first we’re gonna turn the mood down a little bit, now we have the nightin– the nightingale of the Caribbean, the song bird of South America, we call her Marthea [Hicks].
Song 10: Variation on “Abraham, Martin, and John” by Dion
Hicks: (Sings) Anybody here seen my friend Cuffy?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
Anybody here seen my friend Martin [Luther King, Jr.]?
Can you tell me where that man has gone?
Oh, he freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
(Instrumental bridge)
Anybody here seen Che Guevara?
Can you tell me where that man has gone?
Oh, he freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
Anybody here seen (unintelligible name)?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
Well, he freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
Anybody here seen Steve Biko?
Can you tell me where that man has gone?
Yes, he freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
Anybody here seen my friend Cuffy?
Can you tell me where that man has gone?
Oh, he freed a lot of people
But the good they die young
I looked around and he was gone
I just looked around and he was gone
I just looked around the man was gone
Crowd: Applause
Hicks: Thank you.
Song 11: “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand
Hicks: (Sings) Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
And if we had the chance to do it again
Tell me, would we?
Could we?
Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Oh, could it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
And if we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we?
Could we?
Memories
Were beautiful and yet
What’s too painful to remember
We simply to choose to forget
Oh it’s the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
(Scats)
Crowd: Applause
Hicks: Thank you.
Song 11: “Everybody’s Talkin’” by Harry Nillson
Hicks: (Sings) Everybody’s talkin about me
I can’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of their mind
A-People stopping, staring
I can’t even see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes
I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
Skipping over the ocean like a stone
(Calls out) Put your hands together
(Scats)
Everybody’s talkin about me
I can’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of their mind
A-People stopping, staring
I can’t even see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes
I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
Skipping over the ocean like a stone
(Scats)
Emcee: Right on, right on, can we have a big hand, a big hand?!
Crowd: Applause
Emcee: OK, we’re gonna get at the end of our program right here, “Socialist Holiday,” a holiday that we all celebrate, JT Express in the background
Song 13: Variation on “Sunshine Holiday” by Mad Professor
Shirley Hicks: (sings) Such a lovely morning
Another fun day morning
Sunshine slipping in on me, yeah
Gonna take a walk in the sunshine
And let the spring breeze refresh my mind
I’m so glad just to be alive
I’m gonna let my mind just have its way
And go on a socialist holiday
This is a lovely season
And that’s good enough reason
To let (unintelligible word) turn your heart away
Gonna take a leave of absence
Put aside, everyday frustration
And go on a socialist holiday, yeah
I’m gonna let my mind, let my mind, let my mind wa-ay
And go on a socialist holiday
I’m gonna let my mind have its way
And go on a socialist holiday
This is a loving season
And that’s good enough reason
To let (unintelligible word) turn your heart away
Gonna take a leave of absence
Put aside, everyday frustration
And go on a socialist holiday, yeah
I’m gonna let my mind just have its way
And go on a socialist holiday
I said let my mind, let my mind, let my mind, let my mind have its way
And go on a socialist holiday
Emcee: That was our band director, Ms. Shirley [Hicks] Gieg gettin’ down with “Socialist Holiday.”
End of tape