On June 11th, in 1920, jazz musician, singer, trumpeter, actress, composer, pianist, arranger, frequent collaborator with Lena Horne, songwriter, the first Black woman in America to have a TV show and former spouse of Andrew Clayton Powell Jr.-Hazel (Dorothy) Scott was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. She’s most known for her contributions to jazz via vocals and piano during the 30s and 40s. In the 50s, she hosted her own variety show on the DuMont Television Network-The Hazel Scott Show. She was a musical prodigy that moved to New York City when she was 4. Her mother was a classically trained pianist. She taught Hazel the basics. As a result, Hazel continued to blossom on the and gained so much notoriety that by the time she was 8-Julliard was offering her scholarships to attend their school.
During her early teens, she started playing trumpet and performing with her mother’s all-female jazz band-Alma Long Scott Band. At the time, Louis Armstrong-known as Lil Hardin Armstrong would sit-in with them as well. When she was 16 (1936), she started performing on radio shows on the Mutual Broadcasting System. She was given a nickname-'The Hot Classicist' for her playing style (rooted in classical with a jazz overlay). Infamous pianist-Count Basie heard her and invited her to play with him. Other venues she frequented were: The Cotton Club (with Lena Horne), Society Cafe and Roseland Dance Hall. In the early 40s, Hazel played several genres of music at numerous venues around the tri-state area. By the mid 40s, she was one of the wealthiest Black women in America, earning over $75,000.00/year (over $1 million by today’s standards). She was 61 when she passed.
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On June 11th, in 1964, House/R&B musician, singer, bassist, composer, pianist, songwriter, flautist, arranger, producer and electronic dance music (EDM) pioneer-Penny Ford (Pennye Ford) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Many people know her for her vocals with Snap! And Soul II Soul during the early 90s. Her career as a self-produced singer/musician started way before that in the 80s. Her first professional gig was with Roger Troutman’s Zapp on the Parliament-Funkadelic World Funk Tour in 1981 (she was 14). She moved to Los Angeles when she was 16 and was hired as the demo singer for Motown. She also doubled as the background singer for the Gap Band. In 1984, she signed to Total Experience Records and released her debut LP-Pennye. The LP didn’t chart in the US, but produced 2 singles that charted in the UK.
Her career went into high gear after this. In 1986, she was recruited to replace the lead singer of Klymaxx-Lorena Shelby. In 1987, she became a member of the S.O.S Band. In 1988, she was the background singer for Chaka Khan on her European Tour. Interesting fact: In 1989, while on tour in Europe, Chaka was supposed to record with Snap! on the song-The Power. She couldn’t make it and Ford was used instead. When the single skyrocketed to the top of the charts, selling millions of copies worldwide, Ford became a member of Snap! She's featured on much of their 1990 debut LP-World Power. Without her replacing Chaka, the musical world may never have learned about her. She worked with Soul II Soul in 1992 and released her follow up LP in 1993-Penny Ford (Columbia/Sony). She’s 55 today.
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On June 11th, in 1988 The organization known as-The International Opposition to Apartheid in South Africa put together a concert to bring awareness to Nelson Mandela’s unjust imprisonment. It was called-Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute. It was held at Wimbley Stadium in London, UK. It was also billed as the Free Nelson Mandela Concert, Mandela Day and/or Freedomfest. The event was televised on BBC TV to over a billion viewers in 40 different countries, but ironically, it wasn’t shown in the USA…think on that for a minute…How the American power-structure shields us from world events as if we are children incapable of making our own decisions. Also, it shows the superiority complex of America, as if our issues or lack thereof are more important than anything else going on in the world.
We are not the center of the universe. The rest of the world is very worthy and deserving of our attention. Imagine how much political awareness would’ve been heightened, the mass exposure to the plight of Nelson Mandela and apartheid...I really think that people should have free access to information and be able to watch programs that are relevant to humanity (devoid FCC). At any rate, the bill was high caliber with artists performing like: Aswad, Whitney Houston, Hugh Masekela, Simple Minds, Salt-N-Pepa, Stevie Wonder, Mariam Makeba, Al Green, Sting, Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, UB40, Phil Collins, The Eurythmics, George Michael, Dire Straits and Sly & Robbie. Harry Belafonte made an opening speech and Whoopi Golberg offered comic relief.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On June 11th, in 1934, post-WWII musician, doo wop innovator, songwriter, vocalist, stage performance pioneer and founder of the Spaniels-Pookie Hudson (Thornton James Hudson) was born in Gary, IN. Hudson is most known for singing lead on the song-Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight. Many may not know that he was one of the first doo wop singers to use 2 microphones for their performances. The backup singers would all sing on one mic, and Hudson would solo on the other. The Spaniels innovated this technique that is still used today, although boy bands from the 80s/90s went back to the format of everyone having a mic. He was 72 when he passed.
On June 11th, in 1939, country musician, vocalist and multi-label recording artist-Wilma (Charlene) Burgess was born in Orlando, FL. She’s most known for the hits she released during the 60s like Misty Blue and Don’t Touch Me. She originally wanted to be a P.E. teacher and attended Stetson University in Florida. She was inspired to become a country singer after hearing Eddy Arnold in concert. She moved to Nashville in the early 60s and signed to Decca Records. Burgess was expected to replace Patsy Cline after her passing. Instead, she paved her own path and recorded several charting singles. She was 64 when she passed.
On June 11th, in 1960, founder of Gee Street Records, singer, rapper, producer, record executive, DJ and one half of Stereo MC’s-Nick ‘The Head’ Hallam was born in London, UK. He’s most known as the owner of Gee Street Records, a hip hop/urban label that was started with money he received from his landlord when he moved out. He started Gee Street in 1985 and signed acts like: Doug E. Fresh, DJ Richie Rich, Gravediggaz, Jungle Brothers, RZA-Bobby Digital, Tragedy Khadafi and his own group-Stereo MC’s. In 1990, Island Records owner-Chris Blackwell bought the label from him. Interesting fact, his partner in rhyme from Stereo MC’s-‘Rob B’ Birch is exactly one year younger than Nick. He’s 59 today.
On June 11th, in 2002, Fox Network Television aired the first episode of American Idol. The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon that spawned similar shows like: America’s Got Talent and the Voice. It was the first show to have a panel of judges and online users that decided who went to the next round. Interesting Fact: Kelly Clarkson is a contestant turned judge. She started on American Idol, won the contest and became the judge for The Voice. The show is similar to a lot of reality shows that use a process of elimination to determine who advances to the next round with a winner being declared at the end (last person standing).
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