Alive and Kicking after 55
I know many DUers are disgusted with the reporting on CBS' 60 Minutes and it has certainly falling down in hard hitting investigative reporting. Yesterday we accidentally caught a segment about a musical show, review that stars unknown singers who are 55+ and African American. The lady who came up with the idea thought she would write stories to go with each singer/song. She had to resort to plan B because the personal stories of these men and women are so compelling; an illiterate janitor who lived his life in shame and the bottle until the drink was affecting his singing voice, a habitual criminal, another ex-con who had been abandoned as a baby, a nurse who suffered with her dying son, well you get the picture. They had me laughing and crying at the same time. I am not an African American but I am 65 and kicking and I know the healing power of music.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/
The following script is from "Alive and Kickin'" which aired on Jan. 4, 2015. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Shari Finkelstein, producer.
A show opened in New York recently that didn't get a whole lot of attention, but it features some of the most powerful singing voices you've never heard. You haven't heard them because for most of the performers, this is their first time on the stage. They've been singing their whole lives -- in church, in amateur groups, in the shower -- but like so many who had dreams of making it big, life somehow got in the way.
The show was created by a theater producer and former disc jockey named Vy Higginsen, who has made it her mission to preserve a special part of American culture: African-American music, both gospel and popular music like soul and R&B. She found a pool of untapped talent, men and women in what she calls their "second half of life" just waiting for their chance to shine.
Learn more about Vy Higginsen's mission at the Mama Foundation for the Arts
The show is called "Alive: 55+ and Kickin'," and while that certainly fits the men and women who fill this Harlem stage on Saturday afternoons, "Alive" also refers to the music, and that is just how Vy Higginsen wants it.
Here's a link to the videos:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alive-and-kickin/
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listening and dancing to it. There were 3 or 4 couples of us white kids that use to frequent The Cinder Club in Houston, TX. We were the only whites in the club and having a great time. Several times we were invited to follow the caravan to an underground after hours club to continue with the music and dance.
At my advanced age I have acquired a certain amount of wisdom. It is highly possible that we were entertaining the regular folks with our attempts at dance, 'cause you know we can't dance or jump.
Well maybe my girl could dance, but then she was half Cherokee.