Long-Playing (LP): On September 17th, in 1931, RCA-Victor, the recording company and manufacturer of 78 RPM records introduced the first ‘long-playing vinyl record, the 33 & 1/3 RPM AKA the 12” LP. Thus, LP stands for Long Playing…RPM is revolutions per minute. At the time, most records were two-sided singles on 78RPM pressings. The RCA-Victor Company was way ahead of their time in making the 33 1/3rd record. It was expensive, most records players cost about $1200.00 in modern money (about $100 in 1931-Post Great Depression).
Nobody living in the USA aside from Carpetbaggers and corporate giants (I don’t like corporations-financial rapists/bloodsuckers of the poor), had the loot to buy the records or the players specially designed for them. Like most innovations, it’d take some time before the masses co-signed on it. The LP was unveiled at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in NYC, NY. It would not be revived and mass produced with support from the masses until 1948. Thank you RCA Victor for inventing the LP, respect to the engineers there that put this invention together.
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THE ROLLIN’ (19)60s…‘Oh my God!..excuse me Doug E. Fresh…Yes?’…On September 17th, in 1966 the human beatbox, party starter Emcee & Producer Doug E. Fresh (DEF-Douglas Davis) was born on the Island of Barbados. Doug E’s people migrated to Sugarhill (Harlem NYC, NY) and the young man would soon gravitate to the Jamaican based Hip Hop culture via Jamaican transplant and innovative Dee Jay Clive Campbell (Kool Herc). Along with another immigrant Emcee from the UK (Slick Rick), Doug E. Fresh made the classic Hip Hop cut: The Show!
It was a back and forth good feeling song with a dope beat. If you don’t know a few lines or words from the show, then you’re probably a millennial or have lived off the grid since the late 70s. Just saying. Doug E. went on to make cameos in Hip Hop based movies like Beat Street. When The Show comes on anywhere I’ve been, I immediately visualize New Jack City when Flavor Flav announces ‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!’ Doug E. is a pioneering party starter Emcee & Hip Hop King that had to ‘keep rising to the top!’ Most people need to hear the intro only, and then can recite the whole song. Doug E is 52 today!
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On September 17th, in 1967, one of my favorite bands from the psychedelic 60s-The Doors, were banned from the Ed Sullivan Show. As the story goes, the Lizard King AKA Jim Morrison promised the conservative Christian based Ed Sullivan Show producers that he would not say ‘girl we couldn’t get much higher,’ a lyric from his Light My Fire song. However, once the tape started rolling, in true rebellious Jim Morrison fashion of not giving AF about the rules of the hard right, he sang it anyway.
To add insult to injury, they did a second song too: People Are Strange. The irony was thick. The hard right (conservatives) are indeed very strange (THEY deplore ECONOMIC & SOCIAL progression of the masses and change, which makes em strange). S.O. to Jim Morrison & the Doors collective for singing their songs the way they were written. It’s had to believe that 50 years ago, people couldn’t say 'high' on TV.
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On September 17th, in 1967, New York Undercover lead actor-Malik Yoba was born in the Bronx, NYC, NY. Yoba played Detective J.C. Williams on the Golden Era show New York Undercover. I loved this show! It used to come on Fox, one of their best shows to date. I don’t even watch Fox anymore because they, like most start up ‘Urban’ networks, made their name, fame and money off of people of color, only to forget about them and cater to the other man, not the brother man after they got their purses full off of our views and support..can someone say SLAVERY?!...
It’s hard to believe that Fox is now a White Supremist based channel. Yep, I said it, you don’t like how I’m speaking then F U (NWA)…Yoba did a lot of little B rate shows and hood movies after NY Undercover went off the air, but to me, all that counts is his role on the cop based show. Yoba and his co-stars made cops cool when the Hip Hop community were hating law enforcement (racial profiling-police brutality). They made sure to showcase the newer artists at the end of the show performing in their after work club. He turns 51 today!
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… ‘cuz I give strong blows to the heads of my foes, dreads flow, give me power as it grows’… On September 17th, in 1968-The God-The Dreadlock-the Emcee, Allah’s 5% Nation constituent, Podcaster, Activist, Actor & Producer Lord Jamar (Lorenzo Dechalus-govt name) was born in the Bronx, NYC, NY (the birthplace of Hip Hop). He moved to the Now Rule (righteous name for New Rochelle) and teamed up with Grand Puba, Sadat X & Lord Jamar to form Brand Nubian. His Hip Hop supergroup would be the first ones to introduced the world to Allah’s 5% Nation overtly.
Before Brand Nubian, Lakim Shabazz, Supreme Team, and the more known-Kane & Rakim were dropping Jewels but more covertly. Brand Nubian were one of the first major groups to speak openly about Father Allah’s Mathematics (‘we need Knowledge-1, Wisdom-2, to bring forth the Understanding-3, Culture Freedom-4, Power Refinement-5, Equality-6, God-7, Build Destroy-8, Borns-9, our Cipher-0..can a Devil fool a Muslims?'...'I Sincerely Love Allah's Mathematics' (ISLAM)... 'Please Educate Allah's Children with Equality' (PEACE)... My real heads know what I’m speaking on. Peace to the God Lord Jamar for bringing the Light to the 85% and not F’ing with the 10%, respect! He’s POWER CIPHER today! Y’all ‘do the Math’ on that.
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On September 17th, in 1969, the rumors generated by loose lips and ‘fake news’ outlets claimed that Beatles Paul McCartney was dead. The stories claimed that he had been killed in a car accident in Scotland. Sidebar: Remember before the internet when the rumors were Kane & Mike D from the Beastie Boys were dead..from AIDS? The Rap City Mayor Chris Thomas had to dismiss those rumors.
At any rate, Paul wasn’t dead at all, he was on vacation in Kenya, Africa with the woman he was dating at the time-Jane Asher (left-I don’t like the term girlfriend, makes people seem like kids/immature). The UK & US media claimed that they were using body doubles for McCartney to perform their shows. I’m not sure if Paul retaliated against the rumors, but he definitely made it known that he was still alive, and thank God he did, without him, the Beatles music, which is very solid, would not have sounded as good as it did going into the 70s (John Lennon & Paul McCartney wrote most of the songs-old school selfie, left).
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Honorable Mention: On September 17th, in 1858-a displaced African in America that was enslaved, sued the US government for his Freedom-Dred Scott, passed away. Dred Scott was unsuccessful in gaining his Freedom (4) via the USA court system (go figure), which denied him, his wife and two daughters their rights to be Free in the supposed Land of the Free (home of the Slave)…He died almost a year later after the verdict was handed down in the Scott v Sanford case of 1857.
On September 17th, in 1866-the public speaker, reformer, suffrage supporter and activist-Mary Burnett Talbert was born in Oberlin, Ohio. She was known as: ‘the best known Colored Woman in the United States’. Talbert sought equal rights and voting rights for all women, most of whom were White, because at the time of her activism, systemic slavery-like Jim Crow laws, Sharecropping and other exploitative measures used by local authorities to keep Black people enslaved, was still going strong. She died in 1923. She was 57 years-old.
S.O. Nashville, Music City, Tennessee. On September 17th, in 1923, one of the most known, and best innovators of the Country Music genre was born in Mount Olive, Alabama-Hank Williams (Hiram King Williams). Williams was definitely a King of the Country Music scene. The songwriter, singer and musician is regarded as one of the most important figures in Country Music. He recorded over 35 singles that made it to the top 10 slots on the Country Charts. I can’t front, I like his style. His vocals were unique, he almost sounded bad. Williams died on New Year’s Day in 1953 from years of alcohol, morphine & painkiller use. He was 29.
S.O. to Sith, on Sports. On September 17th, in 1879: Negro League Pitcher-Rube Foster was born in Calvert, Texas. Not only did Foster throw a mean slider & fastball, he was also a manager and pioneering executive for the Negro Leagues. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, and passed away 51 years prior to his induction in 1931. I can’t front here, integration did not help everyone, this is a fact. Louis Armstrong & other prominent Black celebrities pre-integration were owners of teams. I can only imagine what the Negro Leagues and Football would look like today if integration had not taken place…ah, I can dream right?!
On September 17th, in 1983 conservative America elected its first Miss America of Color-Vanessa Williams. She was the first African-American woman to wear the crown. Ironically, in a twist of events, the powers that be exposed Williams for posing for Penthouse during her college years. They subsequently stripped her of her crown. The pageant took 63 long years to elect a woman of color into the high-seat, and a couple of weeks to strip her of the crown. She’s still my Miss America. I can recall my Pops being MEGA hot over this right here: ‘Black People can’t have nothing over here, White folks always taking it from us!’ I’ll never forget those lines Pops, still true to this day.
On September 17th, in 1990-Nat King Cole’s daughter, singer, songwriter and actress-Natalie Cole married Rufus’ former drummer and record producer Andre Fischer. The couple had nice runs in the industry during the 70s. Both of them were heavily responsible for the Soul, Funk, Disco movement, and added flavor to it. Natalie Cole’s Annie Mae & Rufus’ Tell Me Something Good are classics that came out of that era.
On September 17th, in 1994, Mike Bivins of New Edition produced-Boyz II Men’s II album that debuted at #1 on the US Chart. It resurrected Motown and became the first LP for the label to reach the number one slot in 5 weeks since 1976’s Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. By the time the year was over, their LP had sold over 6 million documented copies (bootlegs not included).
...'if you don't want your record producer dancing, all up in the video,...Come to Deathrow!'…On September 17th, in 2003, the infamous cigar company-Moore and Bode Cigars sued Puff Daddy claiming that he’d revealed their secret cigar rolling techniques in his video for ‘Shake Ya Tailfeather’. They claimed Puffy had his people secretly videotape their manufacturing practices which were later used in his video without their permission. I’m not sure if they won or settled out of court, or what happened after, but they did attempt to sue. If you know more details on it, place it in the comments. 1
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