By:  LINDSEY O’NEILL, ESQ. 

Girl, Put Your Records On… tell me your favorite song…..    June marks Black Music Month!  Even one more reason to appreciate the gems of our musical history.  Black Music Month started in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter declared the month of June to be Black Music Month and the tradition is still followed today – President George W. Bush recently issued his annual Black Music Month proclamation.  President Bush’s Proclamation this year notes that during Black Music Month, we celebrate the extraordinary talents and creativity of African-American singers, musicians, and composers whose achievements have enriched our culture and enhanced our lives.  Learn more about the Civil Rights Era from the Library of Congress. 

The music holds such amazing power – and has been an important part of the civil rights movement.  Everything from gospel, blues, jazz, Motown, R&B, rock and roll, rap and hip-hop have influenced the hearts and minds of all Americans.  A few songs come to mind so easily:  A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley, What’s Goin’ On by Bob Marley, Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit, Keep on Pushin’ by Curtis Mayfield, Respect by Aretha Franklin….

It feels totally impossible to even list my favorite artists…  There isn’t enough space on the Internet to list all my faves… but here are a few (in NO particular order):  Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Etta James, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Bob Marley, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Jimmy Reed, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Lenny Kravitz, Carlos Santana, Sade, John Lee Hooker, Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Sly and the Family Stone, Jill Scott, Brand New Heavies, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Kool and the Gang, Taj Mahal, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Temptations, Seal, Earth Wind & Fire, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, The Jacksons, Supremes, Temptations, Same Cooke, Will Smith, Chuck Berry, Mary J. Blige, Smokey Robinson, Fats Domino, Ben Harper, Wynton Marsalis, Mos Def, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, The Four Tops, George Benson, Teddy Pendergrass, Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, Isley Brothers, Marlena Shaw,  Clarence Carter, Notorious B.I.G, Anita Baker, Sara Vaughn, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Al Green, Eryka Badu, Corinne Bailey Rae..  I could go on and on! 

Who did I leave out??