Farewell, Oscar Brown Jr. 1926-2005

[progmom]

One of the finest jazz singers you've never heard of.


:cry:



Remembering Oscar Brown Jr. (1926 - 2005)
By John Murph, BETJazz.com Staff Writer


Posted May 31, 2005 -- When it came to enveloping visceral social and political commentary into tuneful, often humorous jazz excursions, singer, songwriter and playwright Oscar Brown, Jr. was peerless.

Best known for writing timeless pieces, such as “Brown Baby” (once recorded by Mahalia Jackson), “Dat Dare,” and the lyrics to Max Roach’ s epochal, We Resist! Freedom Now Suite, Brown drew upon a wealth of cultural information, ranging from contemporary jazz to blues to African-American folklore, and produced a formidable body work that includes a string of unforgettable albums for Columbia and Atlantic, and a few plays. Indeed, a rare breed in the history of jazz singers, Brown died from complications of a blood infection, Sunday, May 29 in his hometown of Chicago; he was 78.

Brown came into prominence in the beginning of the ’60s, a pivotal point for contemporary American history, when the Civil Rights Movement was getting underway. In 1960, the same year Roach’s incendiary We Resist! came out, Columbia Records issued Brown’s mesmerizing debut album, Sin & Soul. At times knee-slapping funny, at other times tear-jerkingly somber, Sin & Soul contains some of Brown’s most memorable and dramatic works, including his re-workings of Cannonball Adderley’s “Work Song” and Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro-Blue.” The album also boasted Brown’s originals, such as “Watermelon Man,” “Dat Dare” and “Signifyin’ Monkey” – tunes that are now a part of the contemporary jazz songbook. “Dat Dare,” a song covered by many in the pop and jazz worlds, was dedicated to his son, Oscar Brown III, who died in an automobile accident in 1996.

Born Oct. 10, 1926 in Chicago, Brown began crafting his dramatic flair as a teenager by acting on radio dramas. Soon after, he was the host of “Negro Newsfront,” a Chicago radio program. After serving in the Army for two years, Brown turned his attention toward music, first as a songwriter.

http://www.bet.com/BETJazz/oscarbrown.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&Referrer=%7B03CE5360-2620-42CB-AD7E-77E4249C5FB7%7D

[FuzzySlippers]

1. I'm very sorry, progmom.

I know he meant a great deal to you. Sorry you never got to meet him in person.:hug:

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. RIP Mr. Kicks.

This is really sad

[progmom]

5. You know his stuff?

:loveya:

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. I have listened to OBJr since about 1965 or so.

Chain gang, But I was cool are at the top of the list.

[progmom]

14. But I Was Cool was so great.

And Hazel's Hips...

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. His music was pure energy and full of excitement and absolute joy

- even the protest ones.

Rest his soul.

[progmom]

28. I have talked to his daughter and e-mailed with his son...

But I never did get to tell him in person how much I enjoyed his stuff. That's what is really bumming me out tonight.

Thanks for remembering him with me. :hi:

[The_Casual_Observer]

39. Be sure to send them a note. I'm sure that they would appreciate

it.

[progmom]

41. Yes, I will.

His son and I were e-mailing a lot last week when his dad was in the hospital.

on edit:
if you're interested, here is a link to his web site: http://oscarbrownjr.com/

[Jara sang]

3. R.I.P Oscar

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[Rabrrrrrr]

6. Is this the guy who did the H2O something or other?

[valis]

7. No idea...

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[Rabrrrrrr]

20. Why not?

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[progmom]

10. no - that was Gil Scott-Heron

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. Oh, yeah

Thanks!

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[progmom]

36. thanks, NGU

I really appreciate the sentiment. :hug:

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[Huckebein the Raven]

45. RIP Oscar

:(

I think I've listened to "Watermelon Man".

[progmom]

48. i bet you have

I will be playing a lot of OB Jr on my show this weekend. :cry:

[Huckebein the Raven]

50. Good Song.

I'll be sure to tune in this weekend.

Can you give me a link to the station via PM ?

I can't find my bookmark :dunce:

[progmom]

52. here

www.wemu.org

[Huckebein the Raven]

54. Thanks

:hug:

[auntAgonist]

51. thanks Progmom, although

I'm not familiar with his music, I see that his passing has affected you profoundly, for that you have my condolences. I will try to listen to your show on Saturday and hope to hear some of his music then.

:hug:

aA.
aka kesha

[progmom]

53. thanks, friend

:hug:

[progmom]

55. well.

anyone coming to this thread after the fact will really wonder what happened here.

[xmas74]

62. Yes I do.

I had heard of his passing but I don't understand what was controversial enough that there were numerous deleted messages.

[progmom]

64. one person

who seems to have a problem with me. :shrug:

[xmas74]

65. same one from the other night?

[progmom]

66. yep.

x(

[xmas74]

67. and they are still here?

[progmom]

68. let me check

yep

[xmas74]

69. I just checked too.

What's up w/ that? I thought that personal attacks were enough to be banned over.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

70. And it's not just personal attacks

seems to have a history of other BS as well.

[progmom]

71. but this is a thread about oscar brown jr

let's not try to invite any more crap

:hi:

[xmas74]

73. yep.

I was in on that the other night. It was just wrong.

[Not_Giving_Up]

56. I'm going to try this again

Although I am not a jazz fan, Oscar Brown is obviously someone that progmom and others consider to be of importance to the community. I wish to express my condolences to those grieving as his loss.

[progmom]

57. thanks, pal

:hug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

58. Sonofabitch, this thread lost a lot of posts in fell swoop!

Dang!!

So sad that in a eulogy thread one asshole felt the need to come in and shit all over everything.

I wonder how their house smells?

[progmom]

60. Thanks, rabrrrrr

for being you.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

61. What happened to your thread?

:-(

it was a nice eulogy, and then someone pooped all over it!

[Misunderestimator]

63. Was wondering the same thing....

[villager]

59. I had a solo in my 6th grade jazz band's version of "Watermelon

Man." sigh...

[Beware the Beast Man]

72. Wow.

Looks like Hurricane Douchewad blew through here.

Anyone who picks on progmom has to go through ME first. x(