The month of June is packed with plenty of events to celebrate. It’s Black Music Appreciation Month, and also the month that now has a federal holiday, Juneteenth. Plus, of course, there’s Father’s Day, and for those who follow seasonal celebrations, this coming Tuesday is summer solstice.
A Juneteenth-Father’s Day combo guarantees that there will be gatherings in the Black community across the nation laced with the scent of spare ribs broiling on the grill. I don’t know how many of you are BBQing or doing something special today, but if you are, here’s a musical melange to add to your soundtrack for the day’s activities. If not, just sit back and enjoy!
Opening on a mellow note for Father’s Day, with a song that will always epitomize for me the love of a daughter for her dad. Nat King Cole first recorded “Unforgettable” on an album by the same name in 1952. In his review of the album, Charles Waring wrote:
Unforgettable opens with its memorable title track, penned by Irving Gordon—who wrote ‘Me, Myself And I’ for Billie Holiday—and represents one of Cole’s career-defining performances. His ultra-smooth, subtly nuanced delivery is pitch-perfect and enhanced by subtle accompaniment from an orchestra elegantly arranged by Nelson Riddle.
Nat Cole’s definitive biography Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole by Leslie Gourse also references the song. In 1992, the album by his daughter Natalie Cole, Unforgettable... with Love swept the Grammys with multiple awards. Through the magic of digital technology—Natalie and Nat, daughter and father, were teamed up in a duet.
One of the most powerful R&B tunes to a dad was recorded by Luther Vandross, from his 2003 album, Dance with My Father, which garnered him four Grammys in 2004. Billboard reported that the song’s music video was a visual tribute of love for Vandross from his friends when he was hospitalized with a stroke.
From the music community, the video stars Beyoncé and her father Matthew Knowles, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Monica, Wyclef Jean, Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion, Nona Gaye, Ruben Studdard, Whitney Houston, Babyface, Brian McKnight and Johnny Gill. “It is an expression of love and appreciation that I have for him,” Wonder said about taking part in the video. “It is just an honor to know him and for us to be friends.”
New Jersey Nets basketball star Jason Kidd also makes an appearance, as do actors the Wayans brothers, Holly Robinson Peete and Garcelle Beauvais. Along with the star power, childhood photos of Vandross and his family are also seen.
Last, but not least for Dad’s Day, I’m reprising a favorite from last year’s Black Music Sunday, a song written about a stepfather. The Winstons’ “Color Him Father” was released in 1969, and tells the story of a man who marries a widow who has seven children. From the lyrics by Richard Davis Spencer:
Our real old man he got killed in the war
And she knows she and seven kids couldn't of gotten very far
She said she thought that she could never love again
And then there he stood with that big wide grin
He married my mother and he took us in
And now we belong to the man with that big wide grin
I've got to color this man father
I'm gonna color him love
I've got to color him father
I believe I'll color this man love
Enjoy the poignant visuals accompanying the song below, edited by YouTuber Rudolph M.
Black family gatherings across the nation don’t just consist of food, and from the youngest attendees to the oldest, family and friends gathered folks also get up and dance—lining up to participate together in the old standby—the Electric Slide, which has been around since the mid-'70s, when it was written by Jamaican reggae superstar Bunny Wailer. Micha Green detailed the dance genesis for The Afro:
It’s a Black family gathering: the music is blasting, the beat drops and one auntie gets up and begins a grapevine movement, then another joins in and suddenly everyone is “on a party ride,” doing the “Electric Slide.”
The song alone is electric. When Neville “Bunny Wailer” Livingston wrote the “Electric Boogie,” for his longtime friend Marcia Griffiths to sing in 1976, the song proved to be the perfect tune to pair with choreography- so much so that a White choreographer, Richard Silver, created a 22-step dance to go along with it the same year. However the song went through a couple iterations before the tune had everyone on their feet.
By 1983, the “Electric Boogie,” gained some traction, but it was the 1989 remix that truly had the masses dancing. In fact, this reporter’s parents were married in 1989, and one of the most enjoyable parts of their wedding reception video is watching everyone “groove, groove, groove,” doing the “Electric Slide.”
The playlists for Black family cookouts are legion—and I’m not going to be able to even scratch the surface here today, though I’ll drop quite a few in the comments section below. BET had a great list of suggestions for Memorial Day, which pretty much covers any and all Black family outdoor events so here’s a link to their list, and I’ll just pop their number one selection here, which is Kool & The Gang’s 1981 hit “Get Down On It.” The world-famous group has been on the music scene since 1969.
From Nairobi to Newark, Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history and their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time. A reviewer recently called their performance “a 24-karat show” and every year, even after a half-century on the road, yields a non-stop schedule of shows across the globe. [...]
In 1969 Kool & the Gang released their self-titled debut album/ It was the introduction to a theme, music is the message, that Kool & the Gang stands by today. The instrumental album was an expression of their deep love of music. It was also an introduction to their signature sound and the fierce horn arrangements created by Khalis, Dee Tee, and Spike. Their debut album spawned their first Billboard R&B charted single Kool & the Gang and later Let the Music Take Your Mind.
Let’s get down!
Black family and community gatherings across the country today have the added weight and joy of Juneteenth. Over the years here at Daily Kos, I’ve written about Juneteenth, its history, the realization of it as a federal holiday, and its relationship to my own extended family history.
I just came across a video of this powerful Juneteenth poem, “Free At Last” from the former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle:
On June 19, also known as Juneteenth, we celebrate the end of slavery in the U.S., the freedom of Black Americans and the countless contributions they’ve made to American culture. This video was created by our team in collaboration with the author, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, who both wrote the poem and provided the voice-over read for our video. Our goal is to honor this important date, and to ensure we all continue to remember the history of our country and the struggles faced by many to be where we are today.
To tell the story of Juneteenth to young people, music is a great tool. Rebecca Jane Stokes wrote this review for Fatherly, last year:
Juneteenth, the traditionally Black celebration of the emancipation of slaves in America, has officially been made a national holiday by President Joe Biden and this means a heck of a lot more than getting another vacation day. As a white American, I didn’t learn about Juneteenth until I was in my late teens, and even then, I didn’t understand the full implications of what the holiday meant—and I wasn’t alone. As is the case with many holidays, many people don’t really know the story of Juneteenth, other than seeing it as a time of celebration, gathering, and enjoying good food.
That changes now, with a little musical assist from Fyütch. The artist, educator, and creator has paired with Oakland-based Grammy nominees The Alphabet Rockers to write “Juneteenth,” a song that does more than teaching you the history of the real Juneteenth, it celebrates Black joy and is perfect for sharing with your family. Fyütch worked with Dr. Sherri Mehta to create a truly bopping track that doesn’t stop with the Emancipation Proclamation, it examines and celebrates the work of the United States Colored Troops who were central in spreading the word to slaves the country over that slavery was illegal.
Lyrics:
Do you know the story of Juneteenth
When the enslaved found out that they were free
Two years after 1863
The Emancipation Proclamation
Verse
Freedom - What does it mean to be free
Are you born with it? Is it God-given?
Or is there a cost to be Free
The Constitution said we were 3/5ths human
How can it be Democracy built on stolen land
Freedom is a right, not a privilege
Freedom from false restriction
Skin color, birthplace
Respect the ways we’re all different
Let’s take it back bout 100 years
Quick - let me paint this picture
America in a civil war
No Marvel movie, this history!
President Lincoln had a plan to end slavery only in the South
But Black folks when they heard about it
Start spreading that word of mouth
Picked up arms and joined the Union
To fight for their own freedom
The colored troops help win the war
Gave that Proclamation new meaning, yup
You betta believe it!
CHORUS
VERSE 2
Justice - When have we seen it and known it
Who are the ones who have grown it
Took it from notion to showin what’s just
Let’s talk about soldiers who were free
Risking their lives for people like me
All the kinfolk they may never know
Took a lead that we all could follow
Followin’ the call for What? Justice
Bigger than land it was for the enslaved
When you think about this Proclamation
The emancipation is knowing that WE were the brave
200 thousand soldiers organizing
Women and children home strategizing
Paper protests, learned to address
The power of truth and a culture uprising
CHORUS
BRIDGE
Can’t stop that joy
Freedom is not individual its collective
Can’t stop that joy
Freedom is not individual its collective
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Freedom is not individual its collective
When you think about Juneteenth
remember how we freed ourselves,
How we stayed prepared.
We will prevail, cuz we tippin scales, closing all the jails and we will not fail!
You believe, You dream, You move You serve.
For those who’ve passed - for our culture.
No one left behind we can be sure
We stand we rise we on that joy ride.
We stand we rise we on that joy ride.
We stand we rise we on that joy ride.
Ayyyy!
Final chorus
Now you know the story of Juneteenth
When the last enslaved knew that they were free
We led ourselves to victory
Victory . . . Victory!
And just in time for this year’s Juneteenth, the three-time Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble, “Sounds of Blackness,” released this song and video. I love their high energy!
Celebrate!
Join the party in the comments section below, and be sure to post your music picks for the day.