Coretta Scott King: Why Atlanta Should Honor MLK's Majorette (2017 VERSION, w/ piano & organ)
A re-make of a video I put together in 2011. This version includes the song I wrote entitled "The Kings' Queen: A Song for Coretta Scott King." The score (computer-generated in this video) is by musician Philip Adair, of Memphis and Atlanta. "ChillPhil" works primarily as a jazz bandleader (check out his ChillPhilJazz YouTube channel), but he is so versatile an artist he was able to give me the 1950s Black-church sound I wanted for this piece (Mrs. King is a product of that era and milieu). The tone is funereal because I wrote it to function as a funeral song. (And, in fact, a group of mourners and I sang the song as we progressed in line on the streets of Atlanta on our way to the state capitol, to pay our respects to Mrs. King in 2006. Later, as I sang alone on the exit porch, a local news team captured the performance and aired the singing on a broadcast. To God be the glory.) Philip added things I had not imagined, including the note that "walks" beneath the word "our" in the chorus, as well as the overall concluding tone he creates for the final stanza. Before Mr. Adair, another brilliant Atlanta musician, Adrian J. Ford, had scored the song for me based on my a cappella rendering. Ford's work is excellent, but after working with him, I heard a sub-melody in my head that I wanted to include in the piece. I don't know what musicians call it, but it's the accompanying melody that joins the song in the second stanza (at 01:04) and then stands alone between stanzas two and three (at 01:54). I knew that without that added melody, the song would not be complete. So I asked Philip to produce a second score. I am ever grateful for the work of these two brilliant men. -- JW, 6/17/17 Read the fascinating story associated with this song! https://thetonibrelandagency.com/coretta-scott-king-song CHILLPHILLJAZZ: https://youtu.be/YIMWlPGh61A
A re-make of a video I put together in 2011. This version includes the song I wrote entitled "The Kings' Queen: A Song for Coretta Scott King." The score (computer-generated in this video) is by musician Philip Adair, of Memphis and Atlanta. "ChillPhil" works primarily as a jazz bandleader (check out his ChillPhilJazz YouTube channel), but he is so versatile an artist he was able to give me the 1950s Black-church sound I wanted for this piece (Mrs. King is a product of that era and milieu). The tone is funereal because I wrote it to function as a funeral song. (And, in fact, a group of mourners and I sang the song as we progressed in line on the streets of Atlanta on our way to the state capitol, to pay our respects to Mrs. King in 2006. Later, as I sang alone on the exit porch, a local news team captured the performance and aired the singing on a broadcast. To God be the glory.) Philip added things I had not imagined, including the note that "walks" beneath the word "our" in the chorus, as well as the overall concluding tone he creates for the final stanza. Before Mr. Adair, another brilliant Atlanta musician, Adrian J. Ford, had scored the song for me based on my a cappella rendering. Ford's work is excellent, but after working with him, I heard a sub-melody in my head that I wanted to include in the piece. I don't know what musicians call it, but it's the accompanying melody that joins the song in the second stanza (at 01:04) and then stands alone between stanzas two and three (at 01:54). I knew that without that added melody, the song would not be complete. So I asked Philip to produce a second score. I am ever grateful for the work of these two brilliant men. -- JW, 6/17/17 Read the fascinating story associated with this song! https://thetonibrelandagency.com/coretta-scott-king-song CHILLPHILLJAZZ: https://youtu.be/YIMWlPGh61A