Remembering Dr King With Chris Kenner
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Martin Luther King
Listen/Download Chris Kenner – Memories of a King (Let Freedom Ring) Pt1
NOTE: After having this record for decades, it was only last year that I remembered to dig it out and post it to commemorate MLK Day (which I do again today).
Dig the tune, read up on your read ups and carry his message forward in your hearts every day.
Keep the Faith
Larry
Greetings all
This is an extra special, unscheduled, surprise post, tied in with my chronic inability to be prepared for any special occasion on the calendar.
To be sure, this situation has improved over the years, as I’ve built up a massive store of music, pictures and information that make these things easier.
Unfortunately, my mind is – to borrow a phrase from the autobiography of the great Dave Van Ronk – like the attic of the Smithsonian, and sometimes no matter how special something is, it gets filed, misplaced or forgotten.
I mention this because I finally remembered – at the last possible minute, naturally – to dig out and digimatize the record you see before you today.
Back in 1968, not long after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Chris Kenner, his hitmaking days long behind him, wrote and waxed a tribute to the great civil rights leader.
Entitled ‘Memories of a King (Let Freedom Ring) Pts 1&2’, it is a departure for Kenner, best known for penning and recording some of the greatest R&B to come out of New Orleans in the 1960s, as well as laying down some of the most obviously inebriated records I’ve ever heard.
That said, ‘Memories of King’ is an earnest and heartfelt, and at times the tiniest bit funky, tribute to Dr. King.
While it’s nothing earth shattering, it is a little known/heard 45, and was the second to last 45 Kenner recorded before he was sent to jail later that year. It was the beginning of a downhill slide that ended in his premature death in 1976.
Give it a listen, and remember the work and life of the mighty Dr. King.
Keep the faith
Larry
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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).
Themocracy