An Early Memorial Day: Gil Scott-Heron Has Passed At The Age Of 62

From: Portside Moderator [moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG]
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2011 9:37 AM
To: PORTSIDE@LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG
Subject: Gil Scott-Heron Speaks

Gil Scott-Heron Dies Aged 62

Poet and songwriter was hailed as 'Godfather of
Rap' after penning The Revolution Will Not Be
Televised

By David Sharrock
Guardian (UK)
May 28, 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/28/gil-scott-heron-dies-rap

Exclusive video: Gil Scott-Heron talks about
his life and work, interspersed with intimate
performances of his music

Gil Scott-Heron video:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2011/may/28/gil-

The musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron - best known for his pioneering rap The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
- has died at the age of 62, having fallen ill after a European trip.

Jamie Byng, his UK publisher, announced the news via
Twitter: "Just heard the very sad news that my dear friend and one of the most inspiring people I've ever met, the great Gil Scott-Heron, died today."

Scott-Heron's spoken word recordings helped shape the emerging hip-hop culture. Generations of rappers cite his work as an influence.

He was known as the Godfather of Rap but disapproved of the title, preferring to describe what he did as "bluesology" - a fusion of poetry, soul, blues and jazz, all shot through with a piercing social conscience and strong political messages, tackling issues such as apartheid and nuclear arms.

"If there was any individual initiative that I was responsible for it might have been that there was music in certain poems of mine, with complete progression and repeating 'hooks', which made them more like songs than just recitations with percussion," Scott-Heron wrote in the introduction to his 1990 Now and Then collection of poems.

He was best known for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, the critically acclaimed recording from his first album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, and for his collaborations with jazz/funk pianist and flautist Brian Jackson.

In The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, first recorded in 1970, he issued a fierce critique of the role of race in the mass media and advertising age. "The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning or white people," he sang.

He performed at the No Nukes concerts, held in 1979 at Madison Square Garden. The concerts were organised by a group called Musicians United for Safe Energy and protested against the use of nuclear energy following the meltdown at Three Mile Island. The group included singer-songwriters such as Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt.

Scott-Heron's song We Almost Lost Detroit, written about a previous accident at a nuclear power plant, is sampled on rapper Kanye West's single The People.
Scott-Heron's 2010 album, I'm New Here, was his first new studio release in 16 years and was hailed by critics. The album's first song, On Coming From a Broken Home, is an ode to his maternal grandmother, Lillie, who raised him in Jackson, Tennessee, until her death when he was 13. He moved to New York after that.

Scott-Heron was HIV positive and battled drug addiction through most of his career. He spent a year and a half in prison for possession. In a 2009 interview he said that his jail term had forced him to confront the reality of his situation.

"When you wake up every day and you're in the joint, not only do you have a problem but you have a problem with admitting you have a problem." Yet in spite of some "unhappy moments" in the past few years he still felt the need to challenge rights abuses and "the things that you pay for with your taxes".

"If the right of free speech is truly what it's supposed to be, then anything you say is all right."

Scott-Heron's friend Doris Nolan said the musician had died at St Luke's hospital on Friday afternoon. "We're all sort of shattered," she told the Associated Press.
_____________

Jamie Byng, publisher of Canongate Books, was a friend of Gil Scott-Heron for more than 20 years. During 2010 they recorded this interview in London where the rapper-poet talked about his life and work, interspersed with intimate performances of his music. A fuller version of the film is to be released later in
2011

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Hi.  I'd planned sending my memorial-day message tomorrow, but Friday's

death of Gil Scott-Heron, and his incredibly beautiful memorial composition,

just below, prompted a switch. Below that, my letter to Mitchel Cohen, WBAI

station board president who sent notice of Gil's death and suggested Pacfica

programming honoring him.  Then, some history and statistics on Memorial Day.

(Just saw a fine obit in today’s LA Times –A43, but the attached is different.)

 

(Tomorrow, a different and more joyous commemoration.)

 

Please watch and listen to this amazing and heartfelt video. 10'.  

 

A tribute: "Better Work For Peace, By Gil Scott-Heron.

http://auntieimperial.blogspot.com/2011/05/sad-day-for-american-social-justice.html

 

* * *

 

Amen.  I met Gil around 1975 or 6, when I was producing benefit concerts for the new Peoples College of Law, organized to teach legal skills to poorer people for free, primarily from communities of color.  Previous artists included Holly Near, Mimi Fariña (Joan Baez’ sister,

Phil Ochs – almost Gil’s double, in many ways. I called Gil out of the blue. He knew about the Ash Grove and the artists, took my word for the event, and came out, basically, for expenses.  (LA Mayor Antonio Villa-Raigosa was a student and worked as a volunteer on the concert.

 

We had a wonderful show, leading to other such and became friends, mostly long distance. I met his wife and child, along the way, and she told me about his drug problem.  He was an amazing creator and musical genius.  I had the pleasure of introducing him to his own heroes, the Watts Prophets, who began the spoken word and music phenomenon that Gil then carried with a giant step towards today’s rap phenomenon. I didn’t know he'd died, sad to say.  Thank you for this.  I’m passing it on to KPFK’s program director, so you can include him in further developments of your most worthy proposal.

 

Ed

 

* * *

 

Immemorial Day - No Peace for Militarized U.S.

 

By Bill Quigley

 

May 26, 2008 (!!) by CommonDreams.org

 

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/26/9198/

 

War Memorial Day is not actually a day to pray for U.S. troops who died in action but rather a day set aside by Congress to pray for peace. The 1950 Joint Resolution of Congress which created Memorial Day says: 'Requesting the President to issue a proclamation designating May 30, Memorial Day, as a day for a Nation-wide prayer for peace.' (64 Stat.158).

 

Peace today is a nearly impossible challenge for the United States. The U.S. is far and away the most militarized country in the world and the most aggressive. Unless the U.S. dramatically reduces its emphasis on global military action, there will be many, many more families grieving on future Memorial days.

 

The U.S. spends over $600 billion annually on our military, more than the rest of the world combined. China, our nearest competitor, spends about one-tenth of what we spend. The U.S. also sells more weapons to other countries than any other nation in the world.

 

The U.S. has about 700 military bases in 130 countries world-wide and another 6000 bases in the US and our territories, according to Chalmers Johnson in his excellent book NEMESIS: THE LAST DAYS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC (2007).

 

The Department of Defense (DOD) reports nearly 1.4 million active duty military personnel today. Over a quarter of a million are in other countries from Iraq and Afghanistan to Europe, North Africa, South Asia and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. The DOD also employs more than 700,000 civilian employees.

 

The US has used its armed forces abroad over 230 times according to researchers at the Department of the Navy Historical Center. Their publications list over 60 military efforts outside the U.S. since World War II.

 

While the focus of most of the Memorial Day activities will be on U.S. military dead, no effort is made to try to identify or remember the military or civilians of other countries who have died in the same actions. For example, the U.S. government reports 432 U.S. military dead in Afghanistan and surrounding areas, but has refused to disclose civilian casualties. 'We don't do body counts,' General Tommy Franks said.

 

Most people know of the deaths in World War I - 116,000 U.S. soldiers killed. But how many in the U.S. know that over 8 million soldiers from other countries and perhaps another 8 million civilians also died during World War I?

 

By World War II, about 408,000 U.S. soldiers were killed. World-wide, at least another 20 million soldiers and civilians died.

 

The U.S. is not only the largest and most expensive military on the planet but it is also the most active. Since World War II, the U.S. has used U.S. military force in the following countries:

 

1947-1949 Greece. Over 500 U.S. armed forces military advisers were sent into Greece to administer hundreds of millions of dollars in their civil war.

 

1947-1949 Turkey. Over 400 U.S. armed forces military advisers sent into Turkey,

 

1950-1953 Korea. In the Korean War and other global conflicts 54,246 U.S. service members died.

 

1957-1975 Vietnam. Over 58,219 U.S. killed.

 

1958-1984 Lebanon. Sixth Fleet amphibious Marines and U.S. Army troops landed in Beirut during their civil war. Over 3000 U.S. military participated. 268 U.S. military killed in bombing.

 

1959 Haiti. U.S. troops, Marines and Navy, land in Haiti and joined in support of military dictator Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier against rebels.

 

1962 Cuba. Naval and Marine forces blockade island.  

 

1964 Panama. U.S. troops stationed there since 1903. U.S. troops used gunfire and tear gas to clear US Canal Zone.

 

1965-1966 Dominican Republic. U.S. troops land in Dominican Republic during their civil war - eventually 23,000 were stationed in their country.

 

1969-1975 Cambodia. U.S. and South Vietnam jets dropped more than 539,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia - three times the number dropped on Japan during WWII.

 

1964-1973 Laos. U.S. flew 580,000 bombing runs over country - more than 2 million tons of bombs dropped - double the amount dropped on Nazi Germany. US dropped more than 80 million cluster bombs on Laos - 10 to 30% did not explode leaving 8 to 24 million scattered across the country. Since the war stopped, two or three Laotians are killed every month by leftover bombs - over 5700 killed since bombing stopped.

 

1980 Iran. Operation Desert One, 8 U.S. troops die in rescue effort.

 

1981 Libya. U.S. planes aboard the Nimitz shot down 2 Libyan jets over Gulf of Sidra.

 

1983 Grenada. U.S. Army and Marines invade, 19 U.S. killed.

 

1983 Lebanon. Over 1200 Marines deployed into country during their civil war. 241 U.S. service members killed in bombing.

 

1983-1991 El Salvador. Over 150 US soldiers participate in their civil war as military advisers.

 

1983 Honduras. Over 1000 troops and National Guard members deployed into Honduras to help the contra fight against Nicaragua.

 

1986 Libya. U.S. Naval air strikes hit hundreds of targets - airfields, barracks, and defense networks.

 

1986 Bolivia. U.S. Army troops assist in anti-drug raids on cocaine growers.

 

1987 Iran. Operation Nimble Archer. U.S. warships shelled two Iranian oil platforms during Iran-Iraq war.

 

1988 Iran. US naval warship Vincennes in Persian Gulf shoots down Iranian passenger airliner, Airbus A300, killing all 290 people on board. US said it thought it was Iranian military jet.

 

1989 Libya. U.S. Naval jets shoot down 2 Libyan jets over Mediterranean

 

1989-1990 Panama. U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy forces invade Panama to arrest President Manuel Noriega on drug charges. U.N. puts civilian death toll at 500.

 

1989 Philippines. U.S. jets provide air cover to Philippine troops during their civil war.

 

1991 Gulf War. Over 500,000 U.S. military involved. 700 plus U.S. died.

 

1992-93 Somalia. Operation Provide Relief, Operation Restore Hope, and Operation Continue Hope. Over 1300 U.S. Marines and Army Special Forces landed in 1992. A force of over 10,000 US was ultimately involved. Over 40 U.S. soldiers killed.

 

1992-96 Yugoslavia. U.S. Navy joins in naval blockade of Yugoslavia in Adriatic waters.

 

1993 Bosnia. Operation Deny Flight. U.S. jets patrol no-fly zone, naval ships launch cruise missiles, attack Bosnian Serbs.

 

1994 Haiti. Operation Uphold Democracy. U.S. led force of 20,000 troops invade to restore president.

 

1995 Saudi Arabia. U.S. soldier killed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia outside US training facility.

 

1996 Saudi Arabia. Nineteen U.S. service personnel die in blast at Saudi Air Base.

 

1998 Sudan. Operation Infinite Reach. U.S. cruise missiles fired at pharmaceutical plant thought to be terrorist center.

 

1998 Afghanistan. Operation Infinite Reach. U.S. fires 75  cruise missiles on four training camps.

 

1998 Iraq. Operation Desert Fox. U.S. Naval bombing Iraq from striker jets and cruise missiles after weapons inspectors report Iraqi obstructions.

 

1999 Yugoslavia. U.S. participates in months of air bombing and cruise missile strikes in Kosovo war.

 

2000 Yemen. 17 U.S. sailors killed aboard US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Cole docked in Aden, Yemen.

 

2001 Macedonia. U.S. military lands troops during their civil war.

 

2001 to present Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) includes Pakistan and Uzbekistan with Afghanistan. 432 U.S. killed in those countries. Another 64 killed in other locations of OEF - Guantanamo Bay, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Yemen. US military does not count deaths of non- US civilians, but estimates of over 8000 Afghan troops killed, over 3500 Afghan civilians killed.

 

2002 Yemen. U.S. predator drone missile attack on Al Qaeda.

 

2002 Philippines. U.S. sends over 1800 troops and Special Forces in mission with local military.

 

2003-2004 Colombia. U.S. sends in 800 military to back up Columbian military troops in their civil war.

 

2003 to present Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom. 4082 U.S. military killed. British medical journal Lancet estimates over 90,000 civilian deaths. Iraq Body Count estimates over

84,000 civilians killed.

 

2005 Haiti. U.S. troops land in Haiti after elected president forced to leave.

 

2005 Pakistan. U.S. air strikes inside Pakistan against suspected Al Qaeda, killing mostly civilians.

 

2007 Somalia. U.S. Air Force gunship attacked suspected Al Qaeda members, U.S. Navy joins in blockade against Islamic rebels.

 

The U.S. has the most powerful and expensive military force in the world. The U.S. is the biggest arms merchant. And the U.S. has been the most aggressive in world-wide

interventions. If Memorial Day in the U.S. is supposed to be about praying for peace, the U.S. has a lot of praying (and changing) to do.

 

[Bill is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola

University New Orleans. His email is quigley77@gmail.com]