How Jazz Shaped the Civil Rights Movement

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a speech written for the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music.” King considered jazz music “triumphant” — and this belief is rooted in the widespread popularity of three men: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, according to author Larry Tye. Respectively known as Satchmo, Duke and the Count, the three men were, Tye writes, “symbols of American culture on par with Coca-Cola and Mickey Mouse.” He profiles the trio in his new book, “The Jazzmen.” In it, he pieces together over 250 interviews, including family members and former bandmates, to illustrate how their appeal among both Black and white audiences paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement. Tye joins us to share more. Guests: Larry Tye, journalist; author, "The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America" lower waypoint Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop,
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0:29.6	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
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0:56.6	From KQED.
0:58.0	From KQED.
1:15.1	I'm Leslie McClurg in Formina Kim.
1:21.3	Coming up on forum, three of the greatest all-time jazz legends, Duke, Satchmo, and the Count.
1:25.9	The respective nicknames for Duke Ellington, Lewis Armstrong, and Count Basie.
1:29.4	They are the lively stars in Larry Tye's new book, Jasmine.
1:34.5	We'll discuss how these talented men rose from humble beginnings to shocking heights during the early to mid-1900s.
1:37.1	And we'll learn how the widespread appeal of their music helped pave the way for the civil rights movement and beyond.
1:42.9	That's next after this news.
2:11.6	This is Forum. I'm Leslie McClurg. I'm in today for Mina Kim. In the early and mid-1900s, three of the country's most legendary jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong. Music Count Basie
2:36.0	and
2:38.0	Duke Ellington.
3:08.9	These three men felled clubs with uplifting lyrics, rip-roaring harmonies, and beats that inspired dancing till sunrise.
3:13.0	But these three musicians did a lot more than just entertain in nightclubs.
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