Oscar Brown
Oscar Brown Jr. | |
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Brown performing on the CBS public affairs television showLook Up and Live,1965 | |
Born | Chicago, Illinois,U.S. | October 10, 1926
Died | May 29, 2005 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 78)
Occupations |
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Years active | 1960–2005 |
Children |
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Parent | |
Family | Grant Wilson Baker (musician) |
Musical career | |
Genres | Jazz |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | |
Oscar Brown Jr.(October 10, 1926 – May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet,civil rightsactivist, and actor. Brown discoveredThe Jackson 5.Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both theIllinoisstate legislatureand theU.S. Congress.Brown wrote many songs (125 have been published), 12 albums, and more than a dozen musical plays.
Early life and education
[edit]Brown was born inChicago,Illinois,[1]to Helen (née Clark) andOscar Brown Sr.,an attorney[1]and real estate broker. His acting debut came on the Chicago radio showSecret Cityat the age of 15.[1]After graduating fromEnglewood High School,Brown attended first theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonand thenLincoln Universityin Pennsylvania, but he dropped out of college and never returned.[2]
During Brown's twenties, he worked as the "world's first Black newscaster" forNegro Newsfront,a Chicago radio program that he coproduced withVernon Jarrett.[3]He worked briefly in real estate andpublic relationsbefore running for political offices: for the Illinois Legislature in 1948 through the Progressive Party, and for the U. S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1952. During this period, 1946 to 1956, he was a member of theCommunist Party USA;he quit when he decided that he was "just too black to be red." Later he served two years in the U. S. Army.[4]
Career
[edit]Radio
[edit]Brown was a contributor to the weeklyWMAQChicago radio seriesDestination Freedom(written byRichard Durham) both during its early years (1948–1949) and in the 1950 revival.[5]
Music
[edit]Brown's father intended for him to follow in his footsteps and become a practicing lawyer. While he did help his father at his practice, he ventured off into other careers such as advertising and served in the US Army in the mid-1950s. He also wrote songs.
In the early 1950s, Brown was hired as a copy-writer[1]by a small Chicago advertising company on Rush Street, Gershuny and Associates, owned by Sam Gershuny and Sheldon Sosna. At that time, Rush Street was totally segregated, and Sam and Shelly took him to Adolf's, an upscale Italian restaurant. As soon as they walked in, the owner sent a busboy to inform that the boss “did not want to serve Negroes in his restaurant.” However, they refused to leave until he finally decided to serve them. They repeated this activity in many restaurants on Rush Street. A fraternity brother of Gershuny and Sosna owned a string of hotels and approached them about advertising his hotels, by sponsoring two hours of the news in the morning on a black radio station. They decided to make Oscar Brown Jr. thedisc jockeyfor the segment, from 5:30 to 7:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, they discovered Oscar not arriving on time. Also, Brown would make politically controversial comments about the on-goingKorean War.As a result, he was released from the job.
WhenMahalia Jacksonrecorded one of his songs, "Brown Baby", he began to focus on a career as a songwriter.[1]His first major contribution to a recorded work was a collaboration withMax Roach,We Insist!,which was an early record celebrating the black freedom movement in the United States.Columbia Recordssigned Brown as a solo artist, who was by now in his mid-thirties and married with five children.[6]
In 1960, Brown released his first LP,Sin & Soul,[1]recorded from June 20 to October 23, 1960.[2]Printed on the cover of the album were personal reviews by well-known celebrities and jazz musicians of the time, includingSteve Allen,Lorraine Hansberry,Nat Hentoff,Dorothy Killgallen,Max RoachandNina Simone(Simone would later cover his "Work Song" and Steve Allen would later hire him for hisJazz Scene USAtelevision program). The album is regarded as a "true classic"[7]for openly tackling the experiences of African Americans with songs such as "Bid 'Em In" and "Afro Blue".Sin & Soulis also significant because Brown took several popular jazz instrumentals and combined them with self-penned lyrics on songs such as "Dat Dere","Afro Blue"and"Work Song".[1]This began a trend that would continue with several other major jazz vocalists. Several of the tracks fromSin & Soulwere embraced by the 1960sModmovement, such as "Humdrum Blues",[8]"Work Song" andHerbie Hancock's, "Watermelon Man".[1]Sin & Soulwas followed byBetween Heaven and Hell(1962).[1]The success ofSin & Soulmeant that much more money was spent on production andQuincy JonesandRalph Burnswere bought in to handle the arrangements.
However, Brown was soon to fall down the pecking order at Columbia following a rearrangement of the management at the company. His third album was notable for the lack of any self-composed songs, and Columbia was having a hard time packaging him as an artist. They were unsure whether Brown was suited to middle-of-the-road/easy listeningnightclubs or alternatively should be presented as a jazz artist. Brown was given much more creative freedom for his fourth album,Tells It Like It Is(1963), and he was back to his creative best, composing songs such as "The Snake",[1]which became aNorthern soulclassic when it was covered byAl Wilson,and has featured on several adverts. Despite this return to form, and having been told by the new head of Columbia, that he was high on the company's priorities, his contract at Columbia was not renewed.
Stage and television
[edit]Brown attempted to mount a major musical stage show in New York City calledKicks & Co.in 1961.[1]HostDave Garrowayturned over an entire broadcast of theTodayshow to Brown to perform numbers from the show and try to raise the necessary funds to launch it on the stage.Kicks & Co.is set on an all-African-American college campus in the American South during the early days of attempteddesegregation.The character Mr. Kicks is an emissary ofSatan,sent to try to derail these efforts in which the play's protagonist, Ernest Black, has become involved. This was the first of several theatrical endeavors by Brown, and like all of them, the public was not won over sufficiently to allow financial success, despite acclaim by some critics. His longest-running relative success, thanks to the participation ofMuhammad Ali,wasBuck White.[9]Another notable musical show,Joy,saw two incarnations (in 1966 and 1969) and again addressed social issues. Appearing with Brown were his wife, Jean Pace, and the Brazilian singer/accordionistSivuca.RCAreleased the original cast recording around 1970; it is long out of print. In 1962, he worked on the Westinghouse syndicated television programJazz Scene USA,produced bySteve Allen.Brown was the show's presenter and it featured a new musical guest each week.[10]Brown sang the theme for the 1970 drama seriesBird of the Iron Feather,the first all-Black televisionsoap opera.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Brown was married to Jean Pace, the elder sister of actressJudy Pace.He was the father of seven children. His son Oscar "BoBo" Brown III was a bassist and musical arranger who died in a car crash in August 1996. His daughter,Maggie,is a singer. A Chicago musical review referred to the trio as "The First Family of Swing". They were joined by the youngest daughter, Africa Pace Brown, in an effort to popularize his music. Brown's first son, Napoleon "David" Brown, inspired the song "Brown Baby" and helped his father promotional appearances and business. The remaining family members consist of Donna Brown Kane, Joan Olivia Brown, and Iantha Brown Casen, who participated in some of her father's production.
On May 29, 2005, Oscar Brown died in his hometown of Chicago fromosteomyelitisat the age of 78.[12]
Humanitarian work
[edit]Brown founded the Oscar Brown Jr. H.I.P. Legacy Foundation to continue his humanitarian work. He participated in an anti-apartheid protest rally in Compton College in 1976.[13]
Brown wrote thevocaleselyrics to theDuke Pearsonmelody "Jeannine" as sung byEddie Jeffersonon the albumThe Main Manrecorded in October 1974[14]and covered byThe Manhattan Transferon their 1984 albumBop Doo-Wopp."Somebody Buy Me a Drink", a track fromSin & Soul,was covered byDavid Johansenand the Harry Smiths on their eponymous first album. "Hymn to Friday" fromBetween Heaven and Hellis played on jazz radio stations such asWDCB.PianistWynton Kellyrecorded "Strongman" with his trio in the late 1950s.Nina Simonepopularized Brown's lyrics to "Work Song", "Afro Blue", and "Bid 'Em In."[15]
Brown's lyrics to "Afro Blue" have been performed byDianne Reeves,Dee Dee Bridgewater,andLizz Wright.VocalistKarrin Allysoncited Brown as an inspiration and has performed his compositions on several of her albums. Brown was scheduled to contribute lyrics to Allyson's 2006 albumFootprintsbefore his death; instead, she recorded his songs "A Tree and Me" and "But I Was Cool" as a tribute.[16]
Brown was the subject of a tribute album by cabaret singer Linda Kosut.[17]
Published works
[edit]Books
[edit]- What It Is: Poems and Opinions of Oscar Brown Jr.This book includes lyrics to some of Brown's better-known songs, as well as lyrics to songs he never got to record.[18]
Discography
[edit]- Sin & Soul(Columbia, 1960)
- In a New Mood(Columbia, 1962)
- Between Heaven and Hell(Columbia, 1962)
- Tells It Like It Is!(Columbia, 1963)
- Mr. Oscar Brown Jr. Goes to Washington(Fontana, 1965)
- Finding a New Friendwith Luiz Henrique (Fontana, 1966)
- Joywith Jean Pace, Sivuca (RCA Victor, 1970)
- Movin' On(Atlantic, 1972)
- Fresh(Atlantic, 1974)
- Brother Where Are You(Atlantic, 1974)
- Live Every Minute(Minor Music, 1998)
Musicals
[edit]- Kicks & Co.
- Oscar Brown Jr. Entertains(one-man show in London)
- Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow
- Summer in the City
- Opportunity Please Knock
- Joy '66; Joy '69
- Big-Time Buck White(starringMuhammad Alifeaturing songWe Came in Chains)
- Slave Song
- Oscar Brown Jr.'s Back in Town
- bad boys '
Songs
[edit]- "The Snake"
- "Work Song" (lyrics toNat Adderley's music)
- "All Blues"(lyrics toMiles Davis' music)
- "Dat Dere"(lyrics toBobby Timmons' music)
- "Afro Blue"(lyrics toMongo Santamaría's music, sometimes recorded by others without crediting the lyricist)
- "The Lone Ranger" (Billboard,#69 – peaked on June 15, 1974)
- "Signifyin’ Monkey" (recorded onSin & Soul)
- "Forty Acres and a Mule"
- "Brother Where Are You"
- "Brown Baby"
- "World Full of Gray"
- "But I Was Cool"
- "The Tree and Me"
- "A Ladiesman"
- "A Young Girl" (lyrics to French song "Une Enfant", by Charles Aznavour)
- "Long As You're Living" (lyrics to Julian Priester & Tommy Turrentine's music)
Media appearances
[edit]- Negro Newsfront(1940s), radio show
- Tonight Starring Steve Allen(c. 1960)
- The Today ShowwithDave Garroway(c. 1960)
- Jazz Scene USA(1962), television show – host
- The Dick Cavett Show(1970), with Jean Pace and Sivuca from the Broadway show Joy
- Stony Island(1978 film) – actor
- From Jump Street: The Story of Black Music(early 1980s) – 13-part public TV series, USA [host]
- Def PoetrySeason 2 (2002) [poet][19]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijkColin Larkin,ed. (1993).The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music(First ed.).Guinness Publishing.pp. 29–30.ISBN0851127339.
- ^abFrancisco, Jamie (May 30, 2005)."Oscar Brown Jr., 78 – Jazzman gave back to community".Chicago Tribune.RetrievedSeptember 1,2011.
- ^"Vernon Jarrett Biography".thehistorymakers.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 6, 2004.
- ^"Oscar Brown Jr., born".aaregistry.org.African American Registry.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
- ^"Oscar Brown Jr. Biography".Old Time Radio Researchers. February 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^Liner Notes forSin & Soul,by Robert Barron Nemiroff.
- ^"Sin & Soul – Oscar Brown, Jr. | Songs, Reviews, Credits".AllMusic.RetrievedAugust 15,2019.
- ^The track is included in theAce RecordsseriesThe Return Of Mod Jazz(Mod Jazz Series), and is described as a "mod anthem".
- ^Langer, Adam (November 28, 2019)."Muhammad Ali in a Broadway Musical? It Happened".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
- ^Harrod, James A. (September 8, 2012)."Jazz Scene U.S.A. #1: The Jazz Crusaders".Jazzsceneusa.blogspot.ca.RetrievedApril 15,2013.
- ^Williams, Sonja D. (August 30, 2015)."Chapter 10: Struggling to Fly".Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom.University of Illinois Press. p. 139.ISBN978-0-252-09798-0.RetrievedJune 25,2023– viaGoogle Books.
- ^"Oscar Brown Jr., 78, Singer Songwriter Dies".Jet.Johnson Publishing Company. June 20, 2005. p. 15.RetrievedSeptember 10,2019– via Google Books.
- ^Ed Hamilton,"Brown, Brando and Mandela"ArchivedApril 7, 2014, at theWayback Machine,JazzTimes,December 16, 2013.
- ^Cunniffe, Thomas."Eddie Jefferson:" The Main Man "(Inner City 1033)".Jazz History Online.RetrievedApril 26,2016.
- ^"Oscar Brown Jr. recognized as one of Chicago’s top artistic creators"ArchivedJuly 21, 2010, at theWayback Machine,Chicago Defender,June 30, 2010.
- ^Jazz, All About."All About Jazz".All About Jazz.RetrievedSeptember 26,2018.
- ^Jerry D'Souza, "Linda Kosut: Long As You're Living (2007)",All About Jazz, September 7, 2007.
- ^Edited by Arthur Ade Amaker and Oscar Brown Jr, Chicago, Illinois: Oyster Knife Publishing, 2005, 102 pp.
- ^"Oscar Brown Jr – This Beach"onYouTube
External links
[edit]- Oscar Brown, Jr. web siteproduced by his daughters
- Donnie L. Betts' documentary on Oscar Brown
- Oscar Brown Jr's oral history video excerptsat The National Visionary Leadership Project
- Oscar Brown photographs, essays, poems, curated by his daughtersat TheUniversity of Chicago PressJournals
- Brown, Oscar Jr.atEncyclopedia.com
- Oscar Browndiscography atDiscogs
- 1926 births
- 2005 deaths
- Singers from Chicago
- African-American dramatists and playwrights
- African-American television personalities
- American jazz singers
- American jazz composers
- American male jazz composers
- Philanthropists from Illinois
- American radio personalities
- American television personalities
- Activists for African-American civil rights
- American civil rights activists
- Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- Columbia Records artists
- Fontana Records artists
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century American singer-songwriters
- 20th-century African-American male singers
- American male singer-songwriters
- Jazz musicians from Illinois
- 20th-century American male singers
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- 20th-century jazz composers
- African-American songwriters
- Englewood Technical Prep Academy alumni
- 21st-century African-American people
- Singer-songwriters from Illinois