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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Ebony and Ivory


This is the tale of two men, both of whom became successes in their own rights, teaming up to create a song that became a number one hit for several weeks on the Billboard charts.  Although their backgrounds were quite different, and they each took a different route to stardom, their duet not only brought them together, but created a song that was brilliant, had a deeper meaning than what it was, and was a symbol of racial harmony.

It’s a perfect song to close off the final Sunday in “Black History Month”.

In the case of one man, he was a member of one of the biggest, most popular bands to ever come out of Britain, and together with his bandmates released twelve studio albums, thirteen EPs, and well over fifty-five singles, many reaching the top of the charts.  Even after the band split up in 1970, this man continued his career with another band throughout the 1970s and early 1980s before that band split up in 1981.  Within a year, he recorded and released today’s featured song with another music legend.

You see, this other man became a superstar despite having only four of his major senses intact.  He was a child prodigy, and signed his first record deal at just eleven years of age!  He has released at least thirty singles that have charted within the Top 10, and he holds the record for most Grammy Awards won by a solo male artist, with twenty-two awards at last count!  He was a leader in the campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday (which was first observed January 20, 1986), and in 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Not bad, huh?

Have you guessed our blog subjects for today?


If you guessed Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, you’re bang on the money.  And, this was the collaboration that they worked on together thirty-one years ago.


ARTIST:  Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
SONG:  Ebony and Ivory
ALBUM:  Tug of War
DATE RELEASED:  March 29, 1982
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 7 weeks

Nope, that’s not a misprint.  The song peaked at #1 the week of May 15, 1982, and remained on the top of the charts until June 26, 1982, when it was dethroned by The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”.  That’s seven weeks.

In regards to this song, this was Paul McCartney’s longest-running chart topper post-Beatles, and for Stevie Wonder, it was his longest-running #1 hit ever!  But, there are lots of other things about this song that you probably didn’t know.


Did you know that the song has one of those double entendre meanings?  It’s true.  The simple meaning has to do with the music video.  Notice how there seems to be a lot of focus on piano keys?  Well, what do you think piano keys are made out of?  The top keys are made of ebony, while the bottom keys are ivory.  And, McCartney admitted that he came up with the title for the song after being inspired by a quote uttered by Spike Milligan...”Black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!”

This explains why the chorus makes references to being “side by side”, and “in perfect harmony”.

But, the second meaning is quite interesting, as the song promotes racial harmony.  After all, McCartney is white, and Wonder is black, and they’re performing side by side in perfect harmony, aren’t they?

The song was recorded in studio at the same time by McCartney and Wonder, but when it came down to filming the accompanying music video, there were work conflicts that prevented both of them from meeting up with each other to film the video together.  What ended up happening was that McCartney and Wonder recorded their parts separately, and the footage was spliced together into one video.  I’ll admit, the editing staff did a great job, as it’s nearly impossible to tell that both parts were filmed separately.

Here’s another interesting fact.  There was a temporary ban of the song in the country of South Africa at the time of its release...which unfortunately coincided with the Apartheid era.  As far as I know though, the ban was lifted following the 1990 release of Nelson Mandela.

And, one more fact.  While the song is ranked at #59 on the list of Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time, it was also ranked on Blender Magazine’s list of Worst Songs of All Time at #10.  So there’s definitely a clear divide in regards to whether people love it or hate it.


Myself?  I love it.  But, then again, there’s very little that Stevie Wonder has released that I despise.  He’s probably one of the most influential artists to ever make his presence on the music charts.


And, considering that it’s “Black History Month” (and the fact that I remember doing at least three separate blog entries on Paul McCartney alone), I thought that I would close this entry off by delving into the rich history of Stevie Wonder, the trip he took to get to the “Ebony and Ivory” sessions, and what he has done since.

Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Morris (try saying that three times fast) on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan.  Stevie was born six weeks prematurely, and one of the complications that happened was that Stevie was born without his sight.  Not that being born blind ever was a roadblock for Stevie.

When Stevie was just four years old, his parents split up and his mother packed up the family and moved to Detroit, where he became interested in playing music.  When he was growing up, he sang in his church choir, and by the time he was ten, he had learned how to play the piano, harmonica, bass, and drums!

In 1961, the brother of “The Miracles” band member, Ronnie White heard Stevie singing, and practically dragged Ronnie over to Stevie’s house to listen to him perform at his home.  White was so impressed by Stevie’s talent that he arranged a meeting with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the eleven-year-old prodigy to the company’s Tamla label under the recording name of “Little Stevie Wonder”.


By the age of thirteen, he had already scored a huge hit with “Fingertips (Pt. 2)”, which topped the charts for three weeks in August 1963!  He became the youngest artist ever to have a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, a record that to this day remains unbroken.  The following year, Wonder made his feature film debut in the 1964 film “Muscle Beach Party”.  And, by 1965, he had dropped the “Little” from his stage name, and continued to make history by scoring one hit right after another.  Most teenagers were content hanging out at the drive-in theatre, going to school dances, and sharing a chocolate shake at the malt shop...but then again, Stevie Wonder was anything but your typical teenager. 


Would you like to know some of the songs that became huge hits during his teenage years?  Well, there was 1966’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”, which hit #3, there was 1967’s “I Was Made To Love Her”, which charted at #2, and the peak position for “My Cherie Amour” was #4 in 1969.  And, those are just three singles in Stevie’s huge catalogue!  All three of them peaking within the Top 5, all before Stevie turned twenty.  That is phenomenal.


As if recording vocals for his own songs wasn’t enough, Stevie Wonder was responsible for coming up with the background music for the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles single “The Tears of a Clown”, which was released in September 1970.  So, he not only had hits by himself, but he helped other artists come up with their own successes on the charts.  Is there anything that Stevie Wonder couldn’t do?


His success continued throughout the 1970s.  He had a #3 hit with “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours”, back-to-back #1 singles with 1972’s “Superstition”, and 1973’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”, another #1 hit came courtesy of his collaboration with the Jackson Five on the single “You Haven’t Done Nothin’”, and he once again had back-to-back #1’s in 1977 with “I Wish” and “Sir Duke”.

And, this brings us to the year 1982, and his collaboration with Paul McCartney, which would become Stevie’s seventh #1 hit!  


I think I can state with absolute certainty that Stevie Wonder did not let his inability to see stop him from having a rich, rewarding career in the music industry.  And, just going back to the theme of “Ebony and Ivory”, I believe that Stevie Wonder helped encourage other young artists of all racial backgrounds realize that there was a door open for them to achieve their dreams.  It didn’t matter whether you were black or white, it didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, and it didn’t matter if you had the ability to see or not...if Stevie Wonder managed to find a way to make his dreams come true when the odds were against him, then that should give anyone the strength and courage to pursue their goals and dreams that they themselves have.


Stevie Wonder’s career continues well after the release of “Ebony and Ivory”.  I still remember being a kid and hearing “I Just Called To Say I Love You” on the radio at least a dozen times a day.  And, why wouldn’t it have been...it was his eighth #1 single.  “Part-Time Lover” became his ninth, and the collaboration that he did with Dionne Warwick, Elton John, and Gladys Knight (That’s What Friends Are For) hit #1 as well.

And, well...I suppose if you wanted to stretch things a bit, you could argue that his contribution to U.S.A. for Africa’s “We Are The World” was his eleventh #1 hit...although he shared the honour with at least thirty other artists.  Maybe we’ll call it ten and a half?

At any rate, there’s one final footnote that I want to make before I close off this blog for another day.  When it came down to performing the single “Ebony and Ivory” live in concert, both McCartney and Wonder performed the single during their tours following the release of the single, but they never performed the single live together...


...that is until 2011 when they performed the single together for the first time in twenty-nine years at the White House in Washington D.C.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

J.J. Jackson - An MTV Founding Father


We have six days left to go in the month of February, and “Black History Month” is about to come to a close. I really had a lot of fun doing this theme month, and I wanted to have this upcoming week end with a bang.

But, today happens to be Saturday, and as we enter the last Saturday of the month, I came to a frightening conclusion. I had run out of topics to discuss as far as Saturday Morning cartoons went. I wasn't exactly sure what I could talk about this week and keep it theme related.

That is, until I got a little bit creative.

You see, Saturdays were days in which cartoons would air during the morning hours, and we'd all sit on the couch in front of the television eating cereals that had as much sugar in them as a giant piece of chocolate cake. And, traditionally, they would end right around lunchtime, and we would be forced to go outside and play.

But what if the weather outside was so terrible that you had no choice but to waste an entire Saturday indoors...keeping in mind that when I was a kid there were no such things as Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest to keep you occupied. What would you do then?

Well, if you were born and raised in the 1980s and 1990s as I was, you simply found something else to do indoors. And, in my case, there was good old reliable MuchMusic (or if you were living in the USA, MTV).



This was back in a time period in which MTV and MuchMusic actually played music videos twenty-four hours a day. There was no “Pimp My Ride”, “Jersey Shore”, or “Silent Library”. In short, when MTV was still cool.

Of course, you couldn't have MTV (or MuchMusic) without the media personalities known as VJ's (or video jockeys). Certainly in Canada, our VJ's were people that helped make the video viewing experience much more entertaining. Some of the people who I remember watching on Saturday afternoons on MuchMusic were Erica Ehm, J.D. Roberts, Master T, Sook-Yin Lee, Rick Campanelli, Bill Welychka, Rachel Perry, Bradford How, George Stroumboulopoulos, and Namugenyi Kiwanuka.

And, MTV had their own fair share of VJ's in its nearly thirty-two year history. Some of the ones I remember hearing about were Downtown Julie Brown, Carson Daly, Ananda Lewis, Jesse Camp, and Kennedy.

But, do any of you remember who the very first MTV VJ's were when the station debuted on August 1, 1981? I do. And, one of them happen to be the featured topic of the day.



The first five MTV VJ's were Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and J.J. Jackson. And, it is the final name in that list that we will be discussing. There's not a lot of information that I have readily available. But with the aid of five different websites (Internet Movie Database, Wikipedia, People.com, MTV.com, and Find-A-Grave), I think I have enough information to make a decent article about a real pioneer in the music broadcasting industry.



The late J.J. Jackson made history by being the very first African-American MTV VJ (though given that his first day was August 1, 1981, I suppose that it's not exactly all that impressive). But that wasn't his only first. We'll get to that in a second.

J.J. Jackson was born in The Bronx, New York on April 8, 1941. His full name was John J. Jackson Jr, which seemed to explain why one of his nicknames growing up was “Triple J”. In the 1960s, his career began at radio station WBCN in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout the 1970s, he relocated to California, where he worked at Los Angeles based radio station KLOS for the better part of a decade.

During this time, he was one of the few African-American people to work as a disc jockey at an “album rock” radio station, and he was also revolutionary in being one of the first DJ's to play music by The Who and Led Zeppelin.

Of course, J.J. Jackson was skilled in other areas besides spinning records in a DJ booth. He also did a little bit of composing on the side as well. If you've heard of the movies “Summer School Teachers” (1974) and “Badge 373” (1973), give the music a really good listen. He actually composed the scores for both movies. His voice can even be heard as the radio announcer in the 1976 feature film, “Car Wash”.

By 1981, Jackson was working as a music reporter for KABC-TV in Los Angeles when he was offered the gig of a lifetime. A brand new television station known as MTV was set to debut in the summer, and they were looking for hosts (otherwise known as VJ's) to introduce music videos, interview up and coming artists, and attend events that were music related. It was an opportunity that Jackson couldn't refuse. That summer, Jackson relocated to New York City, and on August 1, he was on the air during MTV's debut broadcast.



The early years of MTV were in many ways a huge experiment, and J.J. Jackson was involved in some of the station's most memorable moments during the first five years of the network. In July 1985, he was the sole MTV VJ covering the Live-Aid concert event from London, England. And, anyone who remembers watching the Live-Aid event knows just how huge an event it was. In 1986, when MTV debuted the long running program “120 Minutes”, Jackson served as the host for the series premiere.

And, Jackson was also involved in a rather extraordinary event involving the rock band KISS. I could talk about it...but I think it's better for me to show you what I mean.



KISS without makeup. That's an image I can't get out of my head (despite the fact that Gene Simmons has basically gone without makeup throughout the entire run of his “Gene Simmons' Family Jewels” reality series).

But, that's exactly what J.J. Jackson brought to MTV. He not only brought enthusiasm to the job, but he also brought years of experience and wisdom. When MTV debuted, Jackson was 40 years old. The other VJ's were at least a decade younger (in the case of Martha Quinn, Jackson was technically old enough to be her father), but the other VJ's treated him with the respect and class he deserved.

In an interview that he did with MTV, founding VJ Mark Goodman explained that although all five original VJ's left the station years later (Quinn was the last one to leave in the early 1990s), they shared a bond that only grew stronger over the years. Goodman stated this quote about Jackson in this interview;



J.J. was really a gentle man. He was smart. As I think of him, I think of him laughing. The guy had this huge laugh. He was this rabid music fan. Rod Stewart was a friend of his, guys in Led Zeppelin were friends of his. He championed these bands early on when they were just getting going. He did Bruce Springsteen's first television interview. J.J. was a really great guy. For the five of us, he was the wise DJ. He was the guy who had been through it all and was able to always put a mature perspective to things. He wound up handling the spotlight that was thrust on us better than any of us.”

Now, how's THAT for a legacy?

J.J. Jackson stayed at MTV until 1986. Following his stint at MTV, he moved back to Los Angeles, where he lived the rest of his life. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, he worked at several Los Angeles based radio stations, and one memory that I have of him goes back to when I was in high school. I have distinct memories of turning on the radio while I was doing homework in my bedroom and listening to three radio programs while I typed out essays. One show was Backtrax USA with DJ Kid Kelly. Another one was Casey Kasem's Top 40 show. And, the third one was a special look back on the life and career of the 1960s band known as The Beatles...which was presented by J.J. Jackson.



Just hearing Jackson talk about the Beatles with so much knowledge, and so much passion...it was clear to me how he survived in the music broadcasting business for so long. He loved what he did, and he wanted to share that love with everyone who took the time to watch him on MTV, or listen to him on the radio.

And, I think that's why so many people were saddened when on the evening of March 17, 2004, Jackson passed away of a heart attack at the age of 62.

In his later years, Jackson had undergone a triple-bypass operation on his heart, and about a couple of years before he died, friends recall that he was making a conscious effort to get healthier. On the night he died, he went out to dinner with a friend, and was driving home when he experienced a heart attack while on the road. Miraculously, Jackson managed to get his vehicle safely off the road by easing off on the gas, so nobody else would get hurt. Paramedics found Jackson slumped over in his vehicle, but they were unable to revive him.

He left behind a daughter and three grandchildren.

It's been nine years since Jackson passed away...but I don't believe that he will ever be forgotten. The remaining four original MTV VJ's still sing his praises when asked about him, and his interviewing style and passion for music was an inspiration to those who wished to follow in his footsteps.



J.J. Jackson was a legend, a music historian, and all around nice guy. I think that's how he would want to be remembered too.

Friday, February 22, 2013

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air - Behind The Scenes


I've decided that since we've had some heavy topics of discussion as of late, that I would be taking this opportunity to use the last Friday entry of “Black History Month” to lighten things up a bit.

This will be less of a plot summary piece, and more of a behind the scenes trivia piece. I'm sure that most of you will automatically know what the show is...it did run for six seasons on NBC, and made stars out of several people. It was a show that was about a rap star down on his luck who moved in with his wealthy uncle and his family, and is one of the few shows to remain in constant syndication since it went off the air nearly seventeen years ago.



That show, of course, is “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. And, I think one of the most memorable things about the show was the theme song. Take a listen to it below.



Now, this theme song is linked to a couple of trivia tidbits...the first of many.

01 – The theme song was written and performed by the star of the show, actor/rapper Will Smith. The background music of the series was composed entirely by music legend Quincy Jones.

02 – Would you believe that a full length version of this song hit the Top 5 on the music charts in the Netherlands? It's true. It peaked at #3 in 1992! The things you learn from this blog, huh?

Here's how the show came about.

Now, you may recall that Will Smith (before he became a big box office superstar who was featured in such films as “Independence Day”, “I, Robot”, “I Am Legend”, and “The Pursuit of Happyness”) kicked off his rise to stardom in the music industry during the late 1980s. With his friend “DJ Jazzy Jeff”, Will Smith went by the stage name of “The Fresh Prince”. Together, they released such smash hits as “Parents Just Don't Understand”, and “Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble”. But Will Smith wasn't exactly the most financially responsible stable person back then. During 1988 and 1989, Will Smith at the age of 21, spent his earnings rather frivolously. On top of all that, when it came down to his dealings with the Internal Revenue Service, he didn't pay nearly enough taxes to cover everything. As a result of this, the IRS issued a $2.8 million penalty against him, and seized nearly all of his assets. On top of all that, the IRS garnished whatever wages that he was earning in an attempt to get their money back.

As the eighties turned into the nineties, Will Smith had gotten into quite the jam, and by 1990, he was almost considering filing for bankruptcy.

And, then NBC came along, offered Will a sitcom deal, and the rest is history.

As far as the premise of the show goes, it's fairly straight forward. Heck, the theme song tells the story better than I ever could. It centers around a teenage boy named Will who is incredibly street smart (but admittely his book smarts could use some work), who grew up in the West Philadelphia area. But after getting into one fight too many, Will is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.

Once Will arrives, he finds that he has very little in common with the rest of the family. The family is rich and privileged, while Will is a boy who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.



Will's uncle, Philip Banks (James Avery), was a partner in a law firm, who later became a judge, and his stern demeanor often made the children in the Banks household fear him. But deep down inside, he's a softy. His wife, Vivian (who was played by two different actresses...which I'll talk about later in this blog), is the biological relative to Will, and often is the one that tries to keep Phil calm. The rest of the family is made up of sarcastic English butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell), and the Banks children, Valley Girl Hilary (Karyn Parsons), preppy Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), girl next door Ashley (Tatyana Ali), and during the series, a fourth child, Nicky (Ross Bagley) is born.

During the course of the series, Will manages to build strong bonds with everybody in the Banks family, though some take a little bit more effort. Naturally, since Vivian is blood related to Will, they have a fairly decent relationship with each other, and Will gets along with Hilary and Ashley fairly easily. His relationship with Carlton is love/hate, as both of them tend to aggravate each other on account that they're both completely different in personalities, but they forge a bond as well. Even Will's relationship with Geoffrey has its moments.

Of course, the toughest nut to crack is that of Philip, and more often than not, if Will annoys anybody the most, it's his Uncle Phil. But, Phil has also been one to teach Will some really tough lessons about life that he needed to hear, and as time passed, their relationship grew as well. I mean, how could you not admire and respect a man who in his youth became a civil rights activist, who heard Malcolm X speak, who was present at the Selma riots of 1965, and who proposed to his wife on an episode of “Soul Train”?

There were also sporadic appearances by Will's rapping partner “DJ Jazzy Jeff”, who assumed the role of “Jazz”. Jazz is Will's best friend who hails from Compton, California, and to say that he is a bit of a dim-wit would be like saying that Hilary is spoiled rotten. You know, come to think of it, Jazz and Hilary would have made a great couple, considering that both of them appeared to have the IQ of a sponge. Ironically enough, every time Jazz tried to hit on Hilary, she always rebuffed his advances every time.



03 – In fact, there's a running gag that shows Jazz getting thrown out of the Banks house whenever he annoys a member of the family enough to warrant it. And, here's the funny part. Despite the fact that Jazz wears more than one outfit in the series, whenever he is thrown out, he's almost always wearing the same clothes. The reason? The producers only filmed the one scene! They just reused the footage over and over again.

So, that's all that I really have to say about the plot. Most of the episodes were standard, straight forward ones, but there were a couple of special episodes, such as the birth of Nicky, and Will taking a bullet for Carlton. And, besides, this blog isn't going to focus on plot. It's going to talk about trivia and backstage antics. After all, I wanted the final Friday feature of the month to be light-hearted.

So, you've already read three facts...here's a few more.

04 – During the course of the series, Will had two serious relationships, both played by women who would become extremely famous. The first was Lisa (played by Nia Long), and the second was Jackie (played by Tyra Banks).

05 – Dozens of guest stars made at least one appearance on the series. Just listing a few of them off hand, we had Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Vereen, Kim Fields, Robin Givens, Donald Trump, Naomi Campbell, Dick Clark, Donald Trump, Vanessa L. Williams, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Lark Voorhies, Isaac Hayes, and even Oprah Winfrey! Take a look at a snippet of Oprah's appearance below...it's related to the next point.



06 – That dance that Carlton performed? It also became a running gag...kicked off by this memorable clip. The “Carlton Dance”, believe it or not, was meant to be a knockoff of the memorable dance move that Courteney Cox performed at the end of Bruce Springsteen's “Dancing in the Dark” music video! Of course, it wasn't uncommon for Alfonso Ribeiro to strap on his dancing shoes frequently...he did get his big break dancing in a Broadway musical, and actually appeared on MTV to advertise a dance instruction book that he wrote himself while he was appearing on “Silver Spoons”!



07 – Remember that episode in which Ashley Banks was discovered at a record store singing, which lead to Will helping her get a one-hit wonder? Ironically enough, Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley, had a one-hit wonder in 1998 with the single “Daydreamin'” Have a listen below!



08 – Tatyana Ali currently has a recurring role as Roxanne in the long-running CBS soap opera, “The Young and the Restless”.

09 – Perhaps one of the most shocking moments of the series came during the fourth season opener, when the entire family witnessed Hilary's fiance die on screen. I don't even know how the cast kept a straight face during the whole scene, but here it is below.



10 – Another shocking moment of season four was the fact that the actress playing Vivian had changed. The original actress was Janet Hubert-Whitten, who was a cast member during the first three seasons. There were two reasons why she was written out of the show. First, she had gotten pregnant, which had been a violation of her contract (though in a weird twist, they wrote the pregnancy into the series). But it was also revealed that Hubert-Whitten and Will Smith had a rather tumultuous working relationship, and that the tension between the two actors may have been a factor in Hubert-Whitten's departure. 



Beginning with season four, Vivian was played by Daphne Maxwell Reid, and she remained on the show until its May 20, 1996 finale.

11 – The show debuted on September 10, 1990.



12 – Jazz's appearance on the show was so well-received by fans that it helped DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince achieve a sort of comeback. Their 1991 single, “Summertime”, peaked at #4 on the charts, and helped the duo win a Grammy Award!

13 – This show was one of the few that actually revealed the birthdates of most of the characters in the series. Here's a compilation of what I found...

Will – July 3, 1973
Carlton – August 4, 1974
Hilary – August 18, 1969
Ashley – April 29, 1979*
Nicky – February 22, 1993 (he was born on screen)
Vivian – October 21, 1946
Jazz – May 20, 1971

  • = Ashley's year of birth is only estimated as 1979, since her age was very inconsistent during the series. Though, since Tatyana Ali was also born in 1979, it makes sense.

14 – Nicky was also one of the few sitcom characters to experience what is known in the soap opera world as SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome). Just as Chrissy Seaver before him, Nicky was prematurely aged to six years old when they brought in Ross Bagley to the cast.



15 – Nicky Banks has five middle names. His full name was Nicholas Andrew Michael Shawn Nathan Wanya Banks. If those last four names seem familiar, they are the first names of the R & B singing group Boyz II Men, who performed at Nicky's christening.

16 – Despite the series being set in Bel Air, the house exterior can actually be found in Brentwood, California.

17 – Several of the stars of the show won some awards for their performances. Among them are...

Alfonso Ribeiro – Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – 1996

Tatyana Ali – Image Award for Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress – 1997

Ross Bagley – Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Actor Under 10 – 1995, 1996

Tatyana Ali – YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Television Series – 1997

Tatyana Ali – Kids Choice Award for Favourite TV Actress – 1996

18 – Will Smith was nominated for a total of two Golden Globes during the series. He did not win either one.



19 – Interestingly enough, an actress by the name of Jada Pinkett auditioned for the role of Lisa, but was turned down due to her being too short. Will Smith later married her in 1996.

20 – The show was nearly cancelled after season four, but public outcry, coupled with pleas from television station managers caused NBC to rethink their plan to cancel the show, and it aired an additional two years because of it.

21 - James Avery voiced the role of Shredder in the 1980s cartoon "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".

22 – Look closely at the cab driver that drops Will off in the opening credits. The cabbie is Quincy Jones.



23 – The series finale had most of the Banks family moving out of their Bel Air mansion. The new owners of the mansion? Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and Arnold Jackson (Gary Coleman)!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

"I Have a Dream"...


This is a Thursday Diary Entry that will be a little different from all of the other ones that I have done in the past.  It will mostly feature commentary that has to do with “Black History Month”, and you’ll see that towards the end of the piece.  But rather than write about it, it might be easier to show you it.  You’ll get the gist of it as you read on.

February 21, 2013

Well, diary, we’re almost wrapping up another month in the year 2013.  I know February’s a short month, but still...

There’s still a week to go in the week, and I promise that I have some fantastic topics to share to conclude Black History Month with on my blog.  I hope that everyone has learned a lot of things that they may not have known.  I can honestly tell you that I have!

That’s part of the reason why I love doing this blog.  I’ve always been a fan of doing research and looking up things.  I think that’s why I’ve always seemed to do well on history projects and school assignments that involve doing a lot of information seeking.  I love looking up things in periodicals, magazines, books, and the Internet in order to help me learn about a variety of different subjects.  It helps me keep more connected with the world we live in.

And, hey, if I were to ever become a contestant on Jeopardy, I want to be prepared for anything!  (Appearing as a game show contestant is on my bucket list, you know!)

But here’s where the trouble always began.  I could type up a report, print it neatly in perfect size 12 Times New Roman font, and attach it with a staple or a coloured paper clip, and hand it into the teacher without worry.   You ask me to go up to the front of the class and read it aloud, or present it to the class, and that would be a different story.

I have always struggled with public speaking.  I hated it.  In some ways, I’m still very much uncomfortable with it. 

I think it started becoming uncomfortable when I was twelve years old, and I was in the seventh grade.  I still remember the assignment that I was given by my then teacher Miss Grant.  We were to come up with a three-minute speech on any topic of our choice, and present it to the whole class. 

I dreaded the moment intensely.  I had gone up in front of the class to present projects before, but I was always with other people then.  I wasn’t very good at public speaking back then, so I was the kid that held up the projects, or used the wooden pointer to point to the facts that my classmates were rambling off.

This was different.  I had to perform the speech all by myself.  And, I dreaded every minute of it.

Of course, part of that could have been the fact that I had chosen a rather weighty topic to talk about.  Most of the people in my class at the time wrote about their favourite hockey player, or a television show they liked, or going to see their favourite band in concert.

I chose a social commentary piece on bullying in schools.  And, well...let’s put it this way.  On paper, the speech seemed very good.  Very convincing.  But when I went up to the front of the classroom, I was heckled so badly that I actually forgot the words to my speech.  I did get through it, but I don’t think it ended up being very effective.  And, since that moment, I’ve been almost petrified to speak in public.

Mind you, over the years, I’ve gotten a little bit better at speaking in public.  Not so much throughout school though.  I remember almost hyperventilating during a Grade 12 media project presentation because I was so nervous, and I think that the only reason I got through my OAC English independent study presentation was the fact that I had taken a hefty dose of cough syrup during lunch hour to get over my cold, and I was slightly buzzed.  J

But, as an adult I feel more comfortable.  I refused to use the paging system at my workplace because I was afraid I would mess up, but it got easier each day.  And, of course, I wouldn’t have been able to write and present a send-off for a departing co-worker had I not gotten over the butterflies in my stomach.

That’s not to say that I don’t continue to feel apprehension about public speaking.  I don’t think there will be a moment in which I will ever feel 100% comfortable saying a speech in front of hundreds of people.  But, I’m also fairly good at hiding my fear and nervousness...or so I’ve been told, that is.

Still...I always admired people who could get up on stage and give a speech to people flawlessly.  Truth be told, I admit that I get a little bit jealous of people who can recite monologues, soliloquies, speeches, and presentations without so much as breaking a sweat, or stumbling their words, because I know that I’ll never really be fully comfortable making presentations myself.  Of course, they could be putting on a show as well, and they could be just as nervous as I am, and the only way that they are getting through it is by picturing their audience in their Wonderbras and BVD’s.

I think what’s even more important than having the ability to string together sentences and phrases together into a speech that is delivered with professionalism and eloquence is the information that they are presenting within the speech.  After all, you could be the master at making speeches...but if you don’t live up to your promises or you state facts and opinions that are offensive and cause divide, it kind of voids the perfect image that is initially portrayed.  At least, I see it as such.

So, it’s important to know what you’re talking about, as well as making sure that it is delivered in a way that people will talk about for...oh...fifty years.

You know, that reminds me of an event that took place almost fifty years ago.  And, as it so happens, it fits in quite nicely with “Black History Month”.

The date of this event was August 28, 1963, and the location was Washington D.C.  Here’s a little background of what was happening at the time of this event.

As many of you well know, the year 1963 was a year of change for African-American citizens living in the United States.  It was the year that one of the largest political rallies took place on American soil.  And, it was at this particular rally that one man issued a speech that was seventeen minutes in length...a speech that summarized the feelings of millions of African-American citizens perfectly.

The event was known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and was orchestrated by A. Philip Randolph, then President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.  He also served as the President of the Negro American Labor Council and the vice-president of the AFL-CIO.

The year 1963 was chosen to host this demonstration for two reasons.  Firstly, it was a time period in which the Civil Rights Movement continued to grow stronger each day...and secondly, it was exactly one hundred years since President Lincoln passed the “Emancipation Proclamation”, which ordered all slaves in the Confederate States to be set free.

On the morning of August 28, 1963, it is estimated that over two thousand buses, twenty-one special trains, ten chartered airliners, and an endless count of automobiles met up in Washington D.C. to hold the March on Washington.  The march kicked off at the Washington Monument, and ended at the Lincoln Memorial.  And, here’s a little bit of trivia for all of you.  Believe it or not, the march started later than was planned because its leaders were meeting with members of Congress, which ran late.  So, the group of people decided to go on the march without them!  I guess they couldn’t wait!  It didn’t take too long for the leaders of the march to catch up though!


Now, there were several speakers, and performers that took part in the event, but in this case, the very best was saved for the very end, when Martin Luther King Jr. took to the stage to deliver what could very well be considered the most famous speech ever given during the entire twentieth century.


That speech was known as the “I Have a Dream” speech.  And, it’s only fitting that I post a link to the video in which King delivers his speech with eloquence and power.


(It’s seventeen minutes total, but if you can, make the time to watch the whole thing.  It’s so worth it, and hearing King say it out loud has a bigger impact than this blogger copying and pasting it word for word within the blog.)


The speech was estimated to have been delivered to over two hundred thousand people watching the event live...and that’s not counting the millions of people who watched the speech simulcast on television either.  It was that huge.

I mean, think about it.  That speech still sends tingles down the spines of millions of Americans fifty years after it was written.  And, the fact that the speech was finished just twenty-four hours before it was presented makes it even more remarkable.

I guess that I wanted to do a feature on this wonderful speech.  Not just because it was so well crafted and delivered with poise and elegance...but because it was a speech that helped make equality and fairness a daily part of life for millions of African-American citizens.  It’s true that there’s still some work that needs to be done...but in the fifty years that have passed since that speech was first delivered...well, the world’s come a long way, baby...


...all because a man had a dream.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Celebrating the Inventions of Black Inventors


I just wanted to share something with all of you before I continue on with this blog post.

For the Wednesday blog entries that I have typed up this month (as part of the special “Black History Month” feature), I have been focusing a lot on the various inventions that people of colour have brought to the world. And, in doing my research for these entries, I have relied heavily on this website.


The Black Inventor Online Museum has proved to be a fantastic tool for my research, and I'll readily admit that by visiting this website, I learned so much about the various things that were invented by black people. In fact, there were some instances in which I learned things that I had never known before.

I'm showing you this link because it really is a well-designed site. And, it also looks as if it gets updated fairly regularly, as there are sections that are marked “NEW”. It's completely amazing to know just how these contributions have helped shape our world.

Unfortunately, the information for a few of these extraordinary inventors is not exactly chock-filled with pertinent facts. If anything, they're more or less one or two paragraph blurbs. And, that's a shame because I think that these inventors really need to get credited for their contributions to modern society.

So, for this week's edition of the blog, I thought that I would recognize these inventors in one super-post. I've randomly selected ten inventors from this website to feature. We'll talk about who they are, what they created, and how it has impacted our world. So, let's begin this salute to black inventors with...



SARAH BOONE

Sarah Boone filed away for a patent for a little invention that she created that helped press clothes more efficiently. She was granted that patent on April 26, 1892. Now, I imagine that most of you believe that she invented the modern day iron, which assists in getting the wrinkles out of dress shirts and trousers, but this is not true. She did invent the predecessor modern day ironing board by using a wooden board with collapsible legs and a padded cover that was designed specifically for the fitted clothing that everyone wore back then. These days, thanks to wrinkle-resistant fabrics, irons and ironing boards aren't used as much these days (heck, even Monopoly opted to ditch the iron token in 2013 to bring in a kitty cat token). But, still, her invention certainly made looking good much easier.

MATTHEW CHERRY

Matthew Cherry was a key figure in helping two and three year olds get around using the power of wheels. Patented on May 8, 1888, Cherry invented something called a velocipede, which consisted of a metal frame with either two or three wheels attached to the bottom. By sitting on top of the seat of the velocipede, they could move forward at varying speeds by moving their feet along the ground in a fast walking or running motion.



Of course, nowadays, we refer to these devices as tricycles.

And, that's not the only innovation that Cherry came up with either. Cherry also patented a fender for streetcars on New Years Day, 1895, which prevented the car from getting damaged if it collided with another object while traveling. Over the years, Cherry's fender technology was implemented on other modes of transportation.

JOSEPH DICKINSON

Here we have our first Canadian on the list. Joseph Dickinson was born in 1855 (the 1955 date they have listed in the bio was obviously a typo...unless he met Doc Brown and Marty McFly in his travels.



You might be surprised to learn that Dickinson's contribution in the world of black history is linked to music...but he never sang or played a musical instrument. He built them instead.

It was Dickinson who patented the the reed organ, and together with his father-in-law formed the Dickinson-Gould Organ Company after he married Eva Gould in 1884. Prior to the founding of the company, Dickinson won a prize for an organ he designed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, and was once hired to build an organ for the Royal Family of Portugal!

JAMES FORTEN



James Forten helped out in the fight to give African-Americans their freedom while simultaneously building a fortune for himself by building a better sailing mechanism.

First, let's talk about his invention. When Forten was younger, his father was killed in a boating accident, and whether this fueled his desire to find a way to make boating easier, I cannot say. What I do know is that Forten did some experiments with various sails of different sizes and textures, trying to find a way to make sailing more efficient. He did not come up with the patent for the sail, but he managed to find a way to create a sail that was better for maneuvering the ship, and being able to maintain greater speed.

What was really cool was how Forten spent his fortune made from the discovery. He purchased slaves so he could set them free, he started up a school for black children, used his home as a refuge spot for people traveling through the Underground Railroad to secure their freedom, and he financed and contributed to William Garrison's newspaper, “The Libertarian”. What an amazing guy!

GEORGE GRANT

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, and Mike Weir all owe a debt of gratitude to Grant, whose invention helped make the sport of golf much easier to play.



December 12, 1899 marked the date that Grant patented the modern day golf tee – a device he made in frustration over the wind blowing the golf ball in all directions while playing the game. The first golf tee was made of wood, with a concave piece of rubber to keep the ball in place (keeping in mind that golf balls in the turn of the 20th century were made of rubber). This innovation allowed golfers to make longer drives, and allowed the golfer more control over where to hit the ball.

SARAH GOODE

Sarah Goode made history when she received her patent for the folding cabinet bed...she was the very first African-American woman to receive such a patent in history.



She invented the folding cabinet bed as an ingenious method for conserving space inside cramped living quarters. She designed it in such a way that when folded, the bed would resemble a cabinet or a desk, complete with compartments for pens and stationery. And, speaking of pens...

WILLIAM PURVIS

William Purvis was annoyed with having to carry around a bottle of ink at all times to fill out legal papers or sign contracts. I can't say that I blamed him one bit...if that ink ever spilled inside your pocket, it would be near impossible to get those stains out.



So, in early 1890, Purvis received a patent for a pen that one could simply fill up with ink every so often, eliminating the need to have ink on your person at all times. Purvis had invented the very first fountain pen, and since then has made writing a whole lot easier. And although there are ball-point, gel, and Sharpies out on the market today, none of those would have been made possible without the innovation that Purvis brought to the table.

But the fountain pen wasn't Purvis' only invention. It's reported that he also inspired the creation of the stamp pad, bag fastener, electric railway device, and electric railway switch! Purvis was one busy beaver!

LLOYD RAY



Cleaning has never been made easier thanks to Ray's invention. Prior to issuing a patent for his dustpan invention, people had to resort to using other methods to sweep floors and hallways clean. They swept the dirt outside of the door, or they would use a piece of paper to pick up the dirt. Sometimes, they would just pick it up by hand, which was quite a messy experience.

But on August 3, 1897, Ray's patent was granted, and the first dustpan was manufactured by attaching a metal collection plate to a wooden handle.

THOMAS STEWART



And, since we're talking about household items designed to keep your home and workplace neat and tidy, we may as well thank Thomas Stewart for his invention, which helped save the backs of millions of people. Prior to his patent being passed, the only way to scrub a messy floor was to get on your hands and knees and scrub away at the stains by hand. Stewart thought that this method was ridiculous, and sought to find a way to make the job easier. So, he attached a cloth to a stick handle and held it in place with a metal clasp, and made the job less physically demanding. This invention was the precursor to the modern day mop.

JOHN LOVE



You know those pencil sharpeners that are built into the walls of almost every elementary school classroom? The ones in which you turned a crank and it sharpened your pencil? Well, those sharpeners wouldn't have been created without John Love. He was tired of having to whittle away the end of a pencil with a knife in order to finish writing a letter to someone. So, in November 1897, he patented his crank design pencil sharpener. While the invention of mechanical pencils ceased the need to use a pencil sharpener somewhat, pencil sharpeners are still in use today. You have to have something to use to sharpen your coloured pencils, don't you?