Where do the years go. I remember being 7 or 8 and waking up early one Easter morning. Even though I am Seventh Day Adventist my mother gave my brother and I new suits and great toys and candy for Easter.
I was playing with a red Corvette car I got and turned on my favorite early morning religious show Davey and Goliath on WOR TV Channel 9...I remember the sun was not yet up.
The Davey and Goliath episode was everything this first time I was watching. I never knew my mom's mother and my dad's mom was not really active.
I was watching thinking how great it would be to have family come and support my baseball or whatever projects.
Just as sure as I was delighted...it broke my heart.
However, I learned that...death plays a role or can at any age.
Likewise so does God's love and he shows up when you need him the most.
So glad that I could find this for anyone that wants..streaming on youtube.
Also love the people you love... love on them hard as long and as hard as you want Many times I have friends that do not understand my affection for them and how they have made my life so much better. I love them and on them anyway. Because I understand...even when they don't....
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On the last Easter Sunday, that WNEW Channel 5 from New York City was broadcast in my home town of Atlantic City, NJ, I finally saw the film GODSPELL.
I went to Christian Schools the first 7 years of life (shout out to my people from Modern Miracle and Cape May Court House SDA School.) This was the point in my life I actively sought out stuff to be offended by...so I felt that without ever watching a frame, GODSPELL was blasphemy.
At least I out grew that.
Watching GODSPELL in the bedroom I shared with my brother was a humbling experience.
I knew the story of Christ and had seen it acted out in so many Bible Drama's....but it was earth shaking to see the life of Christ....
See it acted out by someone at the time not even 10 years older than myself.
To see the life of Christ and his parables told all across The New York City I loved to visit.
To hear catching pop tunes with the message of ...Love God...Love Man...
And little did I know that this would be my last time....
Godspell came on WNEW every Easter for years and I blew it off...but in actual tears I said to myself...I will make sure I catch this next year...
By next year the cable company had removed WNEW and WPIX from our program options (and I still don't forgive you.)
I miss WNEW....and I learned the hard way to appreciate many different ways of telling a great story and to celebrate tradition.
In fact that's why there are at least four Gospel's in the Bible...
Now I'm going to see if I can find the whole thing streaming somewhere.....
Happy Easter
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I remember sitting in the theater and realizing that School Daze was more the college crew I knew while the students on A Different World at that time seemed more like "After School Special" College.
However, I have always disliked comparing things just cause "they both black."
Soooooo I had said I was never going to write about School Daze Vs. A Different World.
Fast Forward to the virus panic and Spike Lee claiming Bill Cosby ripped off his idea for A Different World and here we are!
Which Came First Mission or Hillman?
This may be a long confusing story , especially if you do not follow the inside stories of entertainment.
I will make this as easy as I know how.
Both Mission College and Hillman are fictional colleges to a degree....however... Mission College was first. Spike attended but did not graduate from Morehouse College in Atlanta , Ga. School Daze is based on a home coming weekend at "Mission College."
While Cosby gets credit for putting HBCU's on National TV. He did not attend a Black College.
WHY WAS A DIFFERENT WORLD ON TV in 1987 and SCHOOL DAZE was not in theaters until 1988?
Entertainment production does not release content in real time.
Basic production of a film can be from 2 to 4 years from the time the project is green lit till it comes to a theater.
So Spike had most likely been in pre-production around 1986.
A Different World reached the masses because in 1987 when you are Bill Cosby and your show is number one in all America...your network will want another show and hopefully another show to get after yours.
Cosby was so hot in 1987 if NBC ran The Roller Derby after The Cosby Show Thursdays at 8:30pm .......The Derby would have been in the top 5 every week.
So TV is quicker to produce and even quicker with all the wind in the sails of Cosby.
A Different World was no SCHOOL DAZE
Season One of A Different World was cute and many of us watched because it remains a positive presentation of Black people and more importantly...
A. Young Black People B. Older Black People as mentors.
However, I remember being shocked seeing ADW stars Jazmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison and Darryl Bell in School Daze. Then as the film progressed I recall thinking "This is going to force Cosby to change A Different World."
Which it did.
The depth of the issues discussed in School Daze from sex, to skin tone , to apartheid in South Africa...School Daze was "All In The Family" season one of ADW was "Andy Griffith."
So even if ADW had been first. ADW owed the great show it become to Spike.
At it's release and for years after. School Daze was the hands down winner.
As the years and time has rolled on.
A Different World is truly in it's own lane. Especially for the millions of fans that have enjoyed A Different World but have never seen School Daze or were born in 1988.
A Different World started off very sugary but by Season 4 the show had discussed not only Homecoming at an HBCU but deeper topics such as the "new" HIV AIDS disease.
It can said that almost every topic discussed in School Daze had been dealt with in ADW and more.
As a teacher. I could never use School Daze to teach with my students, but I have used several episodes of ADW to open discussions on What Are HBCU's and why are they important? Date Rape Dating Abuse and more.
School Daze is streaming on Netflix. I watched it just before writing this. School Daze is a jewel that gets more remarkable every time I see it. Which maybe why I paid to see it 3 or 4 times in 1988. You truly do not get to the show A Different World which still inspires students to pick Black Colleges with out School Daze.
A Different World every season is now on Amazon Prime.
If the government ever lets us back out...I plan on watching with my niece.
Both are great works of art that make me proud. Do yourself a favor and enjoy them both...with out thinking as hard as I did about the dates and comparisons.
Join me on Facebook Live at 4pm as we discuss School Daze Vs. A Different World!
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If you don't know why? Ask one of your friends with good taste. But be prepared for a long gasp...then be prepared for a long list of "this one time....but I don't wanna give too much a way."
Favorite memory...Watching Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up with my brother one snow day on Channel 11. It's still much more fun to watch with him.
2. (Jackie Gleason Presents) The Honeymooners (with Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolf)
As with The Twilight...I owe my love for The Honeymooners to the 1980's programmers of NYC's Channel 11.
All through my highschool years The Honeymooners was the last thing I watched before going to bed.
Favorite Moment: So many but I have to go with
"The Chef Of The Future" close second is when Ralph is on the game show.
I laughed so hard when I first saw these.
3. I LOVE LUCY
I Love Lucy may be better than The Honeymooners. There is no show that has both inspired so many changes in TV and still inspires comedy writers, actors and staff.
Not only funny...but Ricky and Fred reading a paper of a Sunday Morning are still dressed better than some corporate executives I know. I have literally seen some of their gear and went and tried to get suits that looked just as nice.
Favorite Memory: Honestly...studying how I Love Lucy changed TV with tape delay and how Desi Lu became the first BIIIIIG DEAL in TV.
Funny Memory: Lucy's Commercial...
4. Wagon TrainAfter years of arguing with my dad about how hokey westerns were. I came across Wagon Train only to realize....
one of my favorite TV shows STAR TREK
is just Wagon Train set in space. A great anthology series that always brought out amazing guest stars.
Favorite Memory: The Tobias Jones Story starring Lou Costello in a rare dramatic role.
5. The Addams Family
From the great strips of Charles Addams. This may be the greatest/truest comic strip to TV show ever. As a kid I loved The Munsters better...but as a think too much man?
The Addams Family is easily my favorite of the 2.
Favorite Memory: Gomez ringing his ridiculous bell from anywhere in the house or the yard or sub basement and Lurch is right there!
SO WHAT ARE YOU FAVORITES?
WHAT IS YOUR LIST?
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If I tell Dawn..."I'm building a time machine and going back to the 60's"
She would replay..."You are probably going to need some anti-matter...I think I know a guy. Also Ray...I'm not saying your head is nappy...Buuuuut don't for get to take some Afro Ceen."
I have never told Dawn about any of my dreams not to have her push me farther down that road. She is not the one to say "that won't work out" or she won't explain "time is a mostly human construct that is only physical in our minds to help process our existence. So you could no more go back in time than you could visit yourself , telling me about this time machine a few minutes ago."
So when Dawn hipped me to Nikki Giovanni's
YOU CAME TOO
I held on to a simple3 words from the poem I Found You....
In tribute to my friend
Dawn this is my poem
I FOUND YOU
I guestimate there must be half a trillion stars, galaxies, planets that God manages behind the moon while we sleep at night. I believe there are maybe half a billion alternate realities some how we both found ourselves on earth
On earth There are approximately 57,308,738 square miles of land And Whatever You Would Call Texas Some how we both wound up in America
in the 21st century there are 5 categorized races these races speak roughly 6,500 languages and what ever they speak in Texas some how we both found ourselves Black and Speaking English
PEARLS are the only gem stones that come from living creatures and I was looking for something that would be valued by 5 races speaking over 6000 languages and what you were seeking I don't know But I bet of the 7.5 Billion people in the world you were looking for a couple shaped more like Idras Elba
The average person will DREAM136,875 dreams during their life and we could both multiply that number by 4 each because we're above average dreamers
But out of all the numbers God threw in his hat called the universe and time I found you
And I would not trade all
the pearls in all the galaxies
or alternate realities nor any of the 7.5 billion people shaped like Thelma from Good Times
for you
a friend that pushes me out into the world with my dreams and says "you go be great"
Out of 365 Days of The Year We Found Each Other on The Same Day in the same space and I have treasured our friendship every day since
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So many people have walked into my life over the years and taken what they wanted and left and never looked back. It happens and that is not a complaint because what I give I give freely eyes wide open.
Then there are a few like Michelle.
She stays and chats and cheers.
She teaches.
She learns.
She takes what I have to give and promises....
We gone make this culture better.
I'm gone put my every thing..in every thing you gave me
and we gone see what this love make it look like.
Michelle Moseley is obviously as beautiful a creation as God ever gifted the planet...
but if you her heart because of her smile...
YOU playing yourself ….
So ladies and gentlemen please enjoy this poem in tribute to
Michelle Moseley
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STAR 20 (20)
Stars
are not born
God plants their light in the sky
like passion fruit
then
God plucks them when ripe send STARS to replant them self on earth cause NATURAL LIGHT comes in mysterious ways MICHELLE is a gift of song and sunrise I move out her way cause Her words so hot she's given flames 3rd degree burns I give her space because I've seen her spit words so cold ice shivered and had goose bumps MICHELLE is CLEOPATRA with a pen
and when I am under her words I sometimes feel like
just another Egyptian citizen
But that's just the surface
Just the view from the front row
STARS
are not born
MICHELLE
was not ripped from the runway
RIPPING THE RUN WAY
MICHELLE
was not
sent to give
GOOD MIC
for a minute
MICHELLE
is bigger
than
twitter, Instagram, facebook or snap chat
and outshines all the little poets
that were hot for a minute on
black planet a.o.l
and
myspace
MICHELLE
is not a
poetry star
rap star
rock star
she is a
REAL STAR
She is not looking for the spot light
she brings the light to everyone in every spot she's ever been in
and she didn't even need this poem
to say so
it's just that when
God
himself
blesses US
I think the most beautiful thing I can do is
be thankful...
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This image is of the late actor Oscar Polk who portrayed Gabriel in the classic film
GREEN PASTURES
GRAVITY... it was the closest thing to a "lock" I ever known... FLYIN' is so freein' the word "cage" may as well be translated "by Ella Fitzgerald" in between the chorus and the bridge of "Mack Da Knife" every chain every lock every cage is all just "Greek" to me But here's one thing I never told nobody The only things better than Flyin is Learnin' to Fly and The Fallin' They should tell you that's the story God Should make a heaven just for those that just like the learnin' part The part where you fall into the dirt and bleed and spit out dirt and you and God be laughin and he reattaches your wing's and says "one more time...you got this Gabe" The Flyin and stunts The cartwheels around the moon... seein' how close you can get to the sun before you smell smoke impresses the other angels and the people with out wings But I tell you the fallin' was Wonderful you'll never forget the fallin no matter how high you get to get ___________________
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For inspiration I went back one of my favorite books.
The Dancing Bear by Laura McCullough
She has a poem on page 61 called The Intention of Sky and Love. (If she grants me permission to reprint it here? I will share)
Her poem, inspired this... Poetry Looks At Creation Poem Number One National Poetry Month 30 Poems in 30 days Day One-Poem One
The Intention Of The Sky Inspired by a poem from Laura McCullough
And just before hitting the "on" switch for earth... God said I'm gonna gift mankind a sky One of the men on God's staff said "Really? I mean their men. It'll take them at least a hundred years to get more than 15..20 feet off the ground." God sighed and said "I know...and who knows how much longer if they aren't smart enough to work with the women I gave them." Then one of the women on God's staff said... "Yeesh. If these men creatures are that dense why waste a sky on them at all." God answered "Because...For The Best Reason in The Universe" (translated in English means Because I Love Them) "I am gifting them the sky... to bless them with something reach for... and... to have one place in their world...where they can share all their dreams in any language they choose."
The man on God's staff looked at his own wings and wondered what adventures he missed because he always just flew "Because... because." (translated means Because We Always)
The woman on God's staff put a gentle hand on God's shoulder and said... "God...That's Beautiful" God Smirked That Same Smirk He Gave Basket Ball Players When They Hit A Game Winning Shot and answered them both... "I Know Right? That's why I'm God"
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So here we are. These pages have been quiet because I frankly hate to say a lot when there isn't a lot positive to say.
However...here we are.
The Bad News
I won't go into all the bad news. If I look at all the bad news...I honestly won't hang on to get to the good news.
So at this point I am wrapping my mind around the fact that last year was one of the best National Poetry Months ever.
Also with partners like The Labelle Art Gallery and The Otto Brunys Free Public Library of Northfield, this year was set to be even better.
I am wrapping my mind around the fact for us there will be no stages, few if any interviews, no radio station or gallery or even living room events.
I could go on but when I read this later I will probably think "you gave this crap sandwich too much oxygen." Yeah I know I mixed metaphors there but that's part of the good news.
There is Good News 1. With everything that's going on right now...If you are upset with my grammar or sentence structure? "BLEEP" YOU!
2. We Are Here! We are living in April 2020 and if you are reading this? Like me you are enjoying many luxuries we would not have been able to claim just 25 years ago.
(Although I would argue the greed of the present day is one of the reasons why we are here)
Sadly we all have friends that we hugged and kissed last National Poetry Month that are no longer here...but we are. We Should Still Celebrate Being Here and The Gift of Poetry and Art Every Day!
3. DAMMIT IT IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
HELL TO THE YES! I would rather be doing so many exciting things with poetry and reading out in the real world. However, this the only National Poetry Month we getting this year.
So fawning over all the wonderfulness that is now a crap salad does not move the ball up the field. (I Know...I look forward to you telling me to stop it in person) What we can do and what I will try to do is look at my blog, my radio show, my social media and other tech to make National Poetry Month 2020 the best it can be...if most likely not the best ever.
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I like to think that Julius Caesar died so that all of us... most of us could become better writers and perhaps better people.
One thing is for sure the older I get the more people in the play I see shades of myself in.
Let's get in The Wayback Machine and "look" at who I was before Julius Caesar and after.
Raymond at 16.
All my life , I have looked at certain "classics" as over rated. Some I feel are over rated and some I deemed "over rated" but then as the world turned, I understood the appeal. (Such as films like Casablanca.)
The first classic I put back on my mental pedestal was Julius Caesar.
Let's Take a Moment Here To Salute The Great Teachers at Atlantic City High School.
I did not learn a whole lot collectively about the mechanics of English at Atlantic City High. I came in with a pretty good understanding of how to diagram a sentence.
However several teachers including : all of my English Teachers Mrs. Swartz, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Cash and Mr. Goldstein taught me to appreciate concepts in ways that I could grasp as a 16 year old. I didn't so much learn lines from Shakespeare as I learned how these words would enrich the fabric of my thinking.
I still remember feeling that I would skim Julius Caesar to a B plus and wow Miss Martin with the "brilliance" that is "16 year old writing at it's best." Yeah , the "Me" today is laughing out loud too.
Through class reading, explanation and discussion. Through Miss Martin's passion for the material. I learned to love not only Julius Caesar, but other works by William Shakespeare, The Catcher In The Rye and other books I thought were not relatable to me as a young black kid growing up in the mid 80's. I learned that in my life even at 16 there were times I had went to the floor of the senate fully expecting to be crowned KING...and other times when I said "Dammit give me the knife."
Each March 15th. I reflect on both Julius Caesar and how I came to love this work of art...this TIMELESS CLASSIC.
My thoughts on Caesar are varied and broad and I will share in another post. My thoughts on how I got to enjoy finding myself in almost every story ever told? I thank Miss Martin where ever you are. I never saw her again after graduation but I have spent time with her and revisited her class room so many times over the years.
If you still have an "Eileen Martin" in your life? Thank Them and enjoy The Ides Of March.
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Ray The Closer's Juke Box Journal THE SUPREMES Featuring Ms. Diana Ross
The strongest image of The Supremes in my mind comes from circa 1984. I am guessing it was my sophomore year in highschool and I was settled in to watch Cooley High on either Channel 17 or the now defunct Channel 48 (out of Philly.)
This would be my first time watching the classic from start to finish.
BUT THE START!
Breath taking still shots of 1960s/70s Chicago that when I watch still leave me speechless.
The music playing over the opening credits for Cooley High...
The Supremes Baby Love
Baby Love was never my favorite Supremes song...in fact I low key dislike because it sounds like my favorite Supremes song Where Did Our Love Go.
Still...this intro to Cooley High resonates the strongest feelings and memories I have to The Supremes , myself being born a few months before Diana Ross left the group.
By the time I was 16, I was a mix tape DJ and was fully invested in The Supremes and most of Motown's catalogue.
On my personal mix tapes from then to now you would hear a wide variety of Supremes hits...even Baby Love at times.
On my slow jam tapes you would definitely hear Someday We'll Be Together.
The beautiful thing was that The Supremes was definitely our parents music, however because of Cooley High and AM/FM radio and Black Radio...my generation of the time just claimed the music of Diana Ross and The Supremes as "ours too."
We also claimed Marvin Gaye, and The Temptations.
In the case of Marvin Gaye ...Sexual Healing was a song that both our parents and ourselves would still say is "our" music "not theirs."
In the case of The Jackson Five and Stevie Wonder, children that have not even been born yet will one day claim standards like "I Want You Back" or "I Wish" as "their music."
So The Supremes ...may have burst onto the scene in the mid 60's but the music they created will be claimed and treasured by anyone that loves silky, crisp, heart breaking, toe tapping pop music.
When I reflect on how The Supremes stand out in my mind today...?
It's hard to believe that I am the second generation of people to embrace their music.
It's harder to believe that though The Supremes can be seen and heard in almost any girl group that came after...they themselves have been mostly regulated to weekend radio airplay.
I do recall that before youtube, I would rent video documentaries and or scour TV guides for retrospectives on how they got together in Detroit, the drama with member Flo Ballard and those amazing performances on Ed Sullivan.
The Supremes 1st Ed Sullivan Appearance
I have very strong personal feelings about Miss Ross and what happened to Flo Ballard...but they do not need to be shared in this article.
What I will say...is that
The Supremes and their music have made me very happy over the years.
As we celebrate Women's History Month. I knew I wanted to write this article and that I wanted to say...
The Supremes music still makes me happy and feel young and ...still connects me with my parents and that to me is still very beautiful.
The Numbers
The Supremes are still Motown's Number One Recording Artists based on commercial success with 12 number one singles.
When The Beatles were dominating the charts world wide...Motown and The Supremes were their main and often only competition on the charts.
To date...The Supremes are still the number one female recording artists in history.
Honestly I need to check out the catalogue of The Supremes after Diana Ross left...but here are the songs that I know of that I believe are not given as much shine and they should....
I Hear A Symphony
Yes it was a number one hit. However, I challenge anyone to listen to this and think of traditional R&B.
I like to think of this track as if Mozart wrote for Motown.
Also you may want to track down The Stevie Wonder and Jackson Five versions
Love Is Here and Now You're Gone
The song is straight classic pop and only remained a one week number one.
Still it has some spoken word where Diana Ross is speaking from the song to the "boy" in question.
Love Child
Confession! This is the only song that should be on this under-rated Supremes list.
Love Child was clearly a break from The Motown..."sound of young America" motto Berry Gordy was so proud of.
This song was not about pop love but what was clearly a controversial topic of "teen" pregnancy.
Love Child not only shot up the charts to number one in 3 weeks but broke the strangle hold on the number one spot held by The Beatle's monster hit Hey Jude.
More importantly it would make possible future hits like The Temptations' Papa Was a Rolling Stone and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.
The fact of the matter is...I doubt that record labels would let their moderately successful "girl's group" record this single now. I can only imagine the Gordy /Ross/Holland/Dozier/Holland screaming matches that proceeded this release.
Someday We'll Be Together
This was the last of 12 Number one hit records by The Supremes and would chart in the number one spot the very last week of 1969.
The song became an anthem for young lovers separated by The Vietnam War. And by young lovers ending a turbulent decade of protest and change.
The song was orchestrated to pull on the listeners heart strings as word spread that Diana Ross was leaving The Supremes for a solo career.
The record works and haunts me because every time I hear it...I hear Ross saying Someday and my heart saying never. This song is only under-rated because I don't know if you can over rate it.
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