Roxie Roker is most known for giving George the business as his antagonist on the sit-com. She also was one of the first major network actresses to be married to Tom-a White man-on the show. This was the first interracial couple to hit primetime television. Her husband died in 1985, but her son Lenny Kravitz went on to make some very dope music, marry Lisa Bonet & have Roxie’s grandchild Zoe.
Roker always had mad jokes, great dance moves, especially when she was upstaging George, and helped Weezy & Florence more than any other person on the show. Her personality was an integral component of the Jeffersons' overall theme. She died in 1995, she was 66.
| | |
On August 28th, in 1963, Dr. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have A Dream” speech on the Mall in Washington, D.C. It was the ending point of the March on Washington and about a quarter million people were in attendance. Sidebar: my cousin used to mix this speech at the beginning of his House sets, he also used Malcolm X speech records as intros to his mixes too.
Exactly one year later (08/28/1964), riots jumped off in Philadelphia. They would be called the ‘The Philadelphia Race Riots’. The unrest and uprising spanned three days, and although no lives were lost, there were 774 people that were detained by the police, 341 people were injured, and 225 businesses were destroyed. The riots were sparked by North Philly Black residents that were fed up with police brutality…cues up FTP N.W.A.
| | |
On August 28th, in 1972, School’s Out by Alice Cooper was number one on the UK Pop chart. Alice Cooper was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'School's Out'. Cooper was known for his wild stage shows, props and horror themes similar to Screaming Jay Hawkins from two decades prior. He was in the vein of Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne, and Screaming Lord Sutch during the 60s.
All of which based their stage imagery and overall look on Screaming Jay Hawkins horror themed sets. Cooper once stated in an interview that he was inspired to write School's Out because he was asked: what are the greatest three minutes of your life. He replied that there were two: Christmas morning, and the last three minutes before school’s out for summer…
| | |
Politics and Soul music may not mix well…On August 28th, in 1996, Bob Dole was campaigning for POTUS & was using Isaac Hayes & David Porter’s Sam & Dave classic they wrote: ‘Soul Man’ as a parody for Dole’s campaign trail calling the song ‘Dole Man’. As you may have guessed the chorus was changed to: I’m a Dole Man…pause…Aight..
So, Isaac sent dude a little letter asking him to cease using the song altogether during his campaign run. It’s probably safe to say that Isaac did not vote for Dole in ’96. ‘Typically’, musicians are honored that presidential candidates use their songs for their campaign (when the musicians agree with their platform). The current POTUS got dissed by the Stones for the same thing.
| | |
Apparently a lot happened on August 28th, in 2005. The MTV Music Video Awards event was held Miami, Florida. This is the year and time that Hurricane Katrina was on the horizon…At the MTV Videos Awards, Gwen Stefani won Best Choreography Award for her Hollaback Girl video. Green Day won seven awards, including Viewer’s Choice & Video of the Year for ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’. The Gorillaz won Breakthrough Video for ‘Feel Good Inc'.
Kanye West took home Best Male Video for Jesus Walks…Kanye had an MTV awards show party that he hosted where he'd invited Marion Suge Knight. While Knight was in attendance, he got shot...again...This time in the leg. Suge is like Gangstalicious on Boondox…I got shot
| | |
In 2005, folk singer, activist, songwriter and peacemaker-Art Garfunkel got busted for possession of marijuana when the cops found a joint in his car’s ashtray. About a year earlier Garfunkel pleaded guilty to simple possession of marijuana in upstate NY. I'm relatively sure that his prior charge gave the police the 'probable cause' they needed to search through his vehicle.
| | |
Emmitt Till was murdered today, in 1955 in Money, Mississippi...He was 14...
For more information on any musician or event reviewed in posts, or for additional information on The Wandering Eyes Blog overall, use the search bar and search the artist or event using keywords. It’s like a Google search for the site. A wide variety of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE