March
*Filemona Indire, a politician who served as a Member of the Parliament of Kenya from 1983 to 1988, was born Vihiga, Kenya Colony (March).
Filemona F. Indire (b. March 1930, Vihiga, Kenya Colony) was Kenya's ambassador to Russia (then called, the Soviet Union) in the 1960s during Kenya's first president Jomo Kenyatta's tenure. After that, he served as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
Indire was an influential Kenyan Quaker, having served as Chairman of the Friend's World Committee for Consultation Africa Section, a Quaker organization that works to communicate between all parts of the Quakerism. He was also the Chairman of the National Council for Science and Technology in Nairobi, Kenya.
Indire married Abigail Indire, one of the first of 10 African-Kenyan girls to attend high school in Kenya's history. She joined what was then called African Girls High School, but is now known as Alliance Girls High School. She helped lay and pave the pathway for what has become an esteemed and storied institution in Kenyan education.
Indire wrote several books including A Comprehensive High School Curriculum Proposal for Reviewing and Revising the Program of Chavakali Secondary School, Maragoli, Kenya (1962) This study centered on the development of a curriculum which would assist in adequately meeting the needs of high school students in Western Kenya.
Another study that Indire wrote, was a series of 15 books in collaboration with John W. Hanson, Secondary Level Teachers: Supply and Demand in Kenya. The study, published in 1971, was a report on the supply of secondary level teachers in Kenya. It focused on the problem of forecasting the likely demand for non-Kenyan personnel for staffing secondary level institutions up to the year 1975, and it attempted to analyze the very real problem (at the time) of teacher supply within the context of the social and economic conditions of Kenya during the period leading up to the mid-1970s. Other topics examined included the projected expansion of other types of secondary-level education, programs for the preparation of teachers, major factors in teacher recruitment and retention, projected gaps in the teaching force, priorities in the provision and use of expatriate teachers, and recommendations of primary concern for the Kenyan authorities of the day.
Indire was also a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the Education System of Kenya commonly referred to as the Davy Koech Commission. The commission was established on May 15, 1998, by the president of Kenya at the time, Daniel Arap Moi.
*****
March 1
*Benny Powell, an American jazz trombonist, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Benny Powell (b. March 1, 1930, New Orleans, Louisiana – d. June 26, 2010, New York City, New York) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone.
Born Benjamin Gordon Powell, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally at the age of 14, and at 18 began playing with Lionel Hampton. In 1951, he left Hampton's band and began playing with Count Basie, in whose orchestra he would remain until 1963. Powell takes the trombone solo in the bridge of Basie's 1955 recording of "April in Paris".
After leaving Basie, he freelanced in New York City. From 1966 to 1970, he was a member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, playing on Monday nights at the Village Vanguard. Among other engagements, he played in the house band of the Merv Griffin Show, and when the show moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1970 Powell also relocated there. He did extensive work as a session musician, including with Abdullah Ibrahim, John Carter, and Randy Weston. Later in his career, Powell worked as an educator, including as part of the Jazzmobile project. Having moved back to New York in the 1980s, he began teaching at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in 1994.
Powell married Evelyn Jackson at Saint Bernard Catholic Church in New York in 1958.
He died in a Manhattan hospital at the age of 80, following back surgery.
*Raymond St. Jacques, an African American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television, was born in Hartford, Connecticut. St. Jacques is noted as being the first African American actor to appear in a regular role on a western series, portraying Simon Blake on the eighth season of Rawhide (1965–1966).
Raymond St. Jacques (b. James Arthur Johnson; March 1, 1930, Hartford, Connecticut – d. August 27, 1990, Los Angeles, California) was an American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television. St. Jacques is noted as the first African American actor to appear in a regular role on a western series, portraying Simon Blake on the eighth season of Rawhide (1965–1966).
St. Jacques was born James Arthur Johnson in Hartford, Connecticut. He had a sister, Barbara Ann. Shortly after his birth, his parents divorced. He moved with his mother and sister to New Haven, Connecticut. St. Jacques' mother Vivienne later worked as a medical technician at Yale University. After graduating from Hillhouse High School, St. Jacques attended Yale, where he studied drama and psychology. Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant director, actor and fencing instructor for the American Shakespearean Festival in New Haven. St. Jacques staged all of the fencing scenes and duels while at the company and would continue to practice fencing for the rest of his life.
After moving to New York City, St. Jacques continued to pursue acting and studied at the Actors Studio. To support himself, he worked as a model, dishwasher and a busboy. St. Jacques first professional acting role was in the off-Broadway play High Name Today. St. Jacques was cast in the role of "Judge" in the off-Broadway performance of Jean Genet's play The Blacks at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1960.
After appearing in bit parts on television in the early 1960s, St. Jacques made his film debut in a small part in the 1964 film Black Like Me. He followed with a role in The Pawnbroker later that year. He appeared in supporting roles in Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) (adapted from crime novels by Chester Himes) and Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972). In the early 1970s, St. Jacques began teaching fencing and acting at the Mafundi Institute in Watts, Los Angeles. In 1973, he produced, directed, and starred in the crime film Book of Numbers.
During the 1960s, St. Jacques also guest starred on numerous television shows including East Side/West Side, Daktari, The Virginian, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. In 1965, St. Jacques was cast as "Simon Blake" in the Western series Rawhide, the first African American actor to ever be cast as a regular on a prime time Western series. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, St. Jacques continued with roles on stage, film and television. He became known as "The Man of a Thousand Faces" due to the varied parts he played throughout his career. In 1976, St. Jacques starred as Othello in the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre production of the play of the same name. He remained active in stage work throughout his career, touring in productions of Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, A Raisin in the Sun, and the stage adaptation of The Man with the Golden Arm. From 1988 to 1989, St. Jacques had a two-year stint as Judge Clayton C. Thomas on the syndicated television show Superior Court. In 1989, he played abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Edward Zwick's Glory. His final film role was in the 1991 science fiction film Timebomb released after his death.
St. Jacques frequently spoke of the prejudices he and other African American actors faced and the difficulties in being cast in non-stereotypical, thoughtful roles. He later worked to help African Americans find work behind the camera. In 1977, he publicly criticized the lack of minority actors in Star Wars (which he stated he saw five times) and other science fiction films. St. Jacques was also an activist for African American civil rights. In 1985, he and other protestors were arrested during an anti-apartheid demonstration outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C.
On August 27, 1990, St. Jacques died of lymphoma at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His funeral was held on August 31, 1990, at The Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, after which he was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.
*****
March 5
*Abderrahmane Taleb, the artificer for the Algerian National Liberation Front, was born in the Casbah of Algiers, Algeria.
Abderrahmane Taleb (b. March 5, 1930, Casbah of Algiers, Algiers - d. April 24, 1958, Barberousse Prison [now Serkadji Prison], Algiers) also known by his wartime pseudonym Mohand Akli, was the artificer (a service member skilled in working on artillery devices in the field) of the Autonomous Zone of Algiers during the Battle of Algiers. He was guillotined on April 24, 1958, at the Barberousse Prison (now Serkadji Prison) in Algiers.
Born in Sidi Ramdane in the Casbah of Algiers of a family originating from Azeffoun in Kabylie, Taleb attended the Fateh school, then the Sarrouy school in Soustara where he had Mohand Lechani as a teacher, among others, before joining the Guillemin college, currently the Okba high school, in Bab El Oued, where the prevailing racial discrimination forced him to leave the school and continue his studies in private institutions.
Taleb applied as a free candidate to the University of Algiers. He was accepted and enrolled in the Faculty of Sciences in order to pursue studies in chemistry.
At the call of the FLN (National Liberation Front (Arabic: Jabhatu l-Taḥrīri l-Waṭanī; French: Front de libération nationale, FLN), Taleb left the faculty benches to devote himself to the national cause and joined the maquis in 1956, in the wilaya III.
Following the attack of August 10, 1956, in the street of Thèbes in the Casbah of Algiers perpetrated by ultras of the French Algeria against the Algerian civil populations, the chemistry student was assigned to the Autonomous zone of Algiers to manufacture explosives in makeshift laboratories.
In the company of Taleb's friend, Rachid Kaouche, Taleb set up a clandestine workshop at the impasse de la grenade in the Casbah, then another at the Villa des Roses in El Biar. However, on October 11, 1956, a spark caused an explosion that killed his friend and drew the attention of the French military to their activities.
Taleb found refuge with his combat brothers in the mountains of Chrea.
Actively sought, Taleb was apprehended in June 1957 south of Blida by the 3rd Regiment of Marine Infantry Parachutists. Considered as the artificer of the Bombing network of Yacef Saadi during the Battle of Algiers, he was sentenced to death by the Permanent Court of the Armed Forces of Algiers on December 7, 1957, at the same time as Djamila Bouhired, Djamila Bouazza and Abdelghani Marsali.
Taleb was executed on April 24, 1958, at dawn. On the day of his execution, he told the imam appointed by the colonial administration to read the Fatiha: "Take a weapon and join the maquis!"
*****
March 9
*Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, the principal initiator and leading exponent of free jazz, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ornette Coleman (Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman) (b. March 9, 1930, Fort Worth, Texas - d. June 11, 2015, New York City, New York), was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was the principal initiatior and leading exponent of free jazz in the late 1950s.
Coleman began playing alto, then tenor saxophone as a teenager and soon became a working musician in dance bands and rhythm-and-blues groups. Early in his career, his approach to harmony was already unorthodox and led to his rejection by established musicians in Los Angeles, where he lived for most of the 1950s. While working as an elevator operator, he studied harmony and played an inexpensive plastic alto saxophone at obscure nightclubs. Until then, all jazz improvisation had been based on fixed harmonic patterns. In the "harmolodic theory" that Coleman developed in the 1950s, however, improvisers abandoned harmonic patterns ("chord changes") in order to improvise more extensively and directly upon melodic and expressive elements. Because the tonal centers of such music changed at the improvisers' will, it became known as "free jazz."
In the late 1950s, Coleman formed a group with trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Charlie Haden, with whom he recorded his first album, Something Else (1958). His classic recordings, The Shape of Jazz to Come and Change of the Century in 1959 preceded his move that year to New York City, where his radical conception of structure and the urgent emotionality of his improvisations aroused widespread controversy. His recordings Free Jazz (1960), which used two simultaneously improvising jazz quartets, and Beauty Is a Rare Thing (1961), in which he successfully experimented with free meters and tempos, also proved influential.
In the 1960s, Coleman taught himself to play the violin and trumpet, using unorthodox techniques. By the 1970s, he was performing only irregularly, preferring instead to compose. His most notable extended composition is the suite Skies of America, which was recorded in 1972 by the London Symphony Orchestra joined by Coleman on alto saxophone. Influenced by his experience of improvising with Rif musicians of Morocco in 1973, Coleman formed an electric band called Prime Time, whose music was a fusion of rock rhythms with harmonically free collective improvisations. This band remained his primary performance vehicle until the 1990s.
Coleman's early style influenced not only fellow saxophonists but also players of all other instruments in jazz. In recognition of such accomplishment, Coleman received the Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale prize for music in 2001. In 2005, with a quartet made up of two acoustic double bass players (one bowing his instrumennt, the other plucking), a drummer, and Coleman himself (playing alto saxophone, trumpet, and violin), he recorded Sound Grammar during a live performance in Italy; the work, which was said to hearken back to his music of the 1960s, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2007.
Coleman was largely a self-taught musician, although in 1959 he attended the School of Jazz at Lenox, Massachusetts. Coleman first played with Peewee Cranton's Rhythm and Blues Band in New Orleans. From 1952 to 1954, he had his own band in Fort Worth, Texas. He then moved to Los Angeles and made his first recording in Hollywood on alto saxophone. In 1959, he formed his own quartet. Coleman, a composer as well as a saxophonist, violinist and trumpeter, toured Europe and influenced European jazz. Though infrequently heard, and with only a few LP's, Coleman is, nevertheless, one of the giants of modern music, and was hailed as the first true innovator since bop.
*****
*Lawrence Raines, a professional baseball player who played for the Cleveland Indians, was born in St. Albans, West Virginia.
Lawrence Glenn Hope Raines (b. March 9, 1930, St. Albans, West Virginia – d. January 28, 1978, Lansing, Michigan) was a middle infielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1957 to 1958 for the Cleveland Indians.
Born in St. Albans, West Virginia, Raines is recognized for having been the first ballplayer to perform professionally in Minor League Baseball, Negro League Baseball, Japanese Baseball and Major League Baseball.
Raines debuted professionally with the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League, a premier team owned and managed by the legendary Rube Foster. In 1952, he topped the East-West All-Star Game poll with a total of 24,583 votes and started at shortstop for the Western Division at Comiskey Park.
In 1953, Raines traveled to Japan where he played two seasons for the Hankyu Braves. Raines posted a .286 batting average with eight home runs and 49 runs batted in through 120 games in his season debut. Then, in 1953, he won the Pacific League batting title with a .337 average, while collecting 18 homers and 96 RBI in 137 games.
Afterwards, Raines returned in 1955 to the United States and agreed to sign a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. Raines spent two years in the Cleveland minor league system before being promoted to the Indians in 1957. He was used sparingly in some ways, going up and down between the majors and the minors until 1958.
Raines later played from 1959 through 1961 at the Triple-A level for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins organizations. He returned to Hankyu for one more season in 1962, retiring after that. In between, Raines played winterball in Venezuela for the Rapinos de Occidente club in its 1960-61 season.
Raines died on January 28, 1978 in Lansing, Michigan, at the age of 47.
*****
March 12
*Wardell Quezerque, an American composer, arranger, record producer and bandleader, known among New Orleans musicians as the "Creole Beethoven", was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Wardell Joseph Quezergue (b. March 12, 1930, New Orleans, Louisiana – d. September 6, 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana) was an American composer, arranger, record producer and bandleader, known among New Orleans musicians as the "Creole Beethoven". Steeped in jazz, he was an influential musician whose work shaped the sound of New Orleans rhythm and blues, funk and pop music. His role as an arranger and producer kept him out of the spotlight and enabled him to enhance the careers of many. He was a staple of the New Orleans music scene and the recipient of an honorary doctorate in music.
Quezergue was born in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans into a musical family of creole descent. His father Sidney Quezergue, Sr. played guitar and his mother Violetta Guimont played clarinet. His older brothers, Sidney Jr. and Leo, were jazz musicians. Sidney played the trumpet and Leo played the drums. The family played together on Sundays. Quezergue had no formal music training. He was influenced by Louis Armstrong, Harry James and Dizzy Gillespie. As a teenager he played the trumpet professionally and started to compose.
In late 1940s, Quezergue played in Dave Bartholomew's band. In 1951, he was drafted into the army and served as an army musician stationed in Japan during the Korean War. He credits the army and the army musicians with his professional education. He met and married his wife Yoshi Tamaki in Japan. After returning to New Orleans he studied at the Gateway School of Music. He started to get work by rearranging popular hits for the local music market. He emerged as a bandleader in his own right in the mid-1950s with his band the Royal Dukes of Rhythm, and later with Wardell and the Sultans in the late 1950s. He taught music and arranged for well-known acts. His bands backed a variety of artists including Otis Redding. He was the recording secretary and lifelong member of the New Orleans Negro Musicians Union.
Quezergue did not have a signature musical style. He approached each composition and each project individually. He avoided listening to hit songs on the radio because he thought it would bias his creativity. In the absence of a piano he would use a tuning fork to establish the pitch. In arranging, his first consideration was the bassline. He associated the melody of the bassline with groove and energy. He particularly specialized in arranging horn charts. In describing his role as an arranger, he said he applied New Orleans jazz to other styles of music.
In the early 1960s, Quezergue arranged for bandleader Dave Bartholomew at Imperial Records. He worked on releases by Fats Domino, Earl King and others, including King's signature song "Trick Bag" and Professor Longhair's carnival standard "Big Chief". He did several stage arrangements for Motown acts including Stevie Wonder.
In 1962, Quezergue formed Nola Records. In 1964, he co-wrote drummer Smokey Johnson's "It Ain't My Fault", an instrumental track which became a New Orleans funk standard. Robert Parker's "Barefootin" from the label reached number two on the R&B chart. Other artists on the label included Eddie Bo and Willie Tee. Later he signed a production deal with Malaco Records of Jackson, Mississippi, and recorded King Floyd's "Groove Me" and Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff" in a single week. Both songs reached number one on the R&B chart. Initially major labels, including Stax and Atlantic, had rejected the songs as non-commercial, so Malaco released "Groove Me" on its own label, Chimneyville Records. The song became King Floyd's biggest hit. It has been covered by artists as diverse as Etta James and Tom Petty. Stax eventually released "Mr. Big Stuff" and it became the biggest-selling release of the label reaching double platinum, outselling Otis Redding, Sam and Dave and other Stax acts. He also arranged two songs for The Dixie Cups, "Iko Iko" and "Chapel of Love" which reached number one on the Pop chart. By this time Quezergue was so integrated into the New Orleans music scene that he declined a liberal offer to join Atlantic Records.
As a result of his success, Quezergue's skills and Malaco studio were in demand in the 1970s and were used by artists as diverse as Paul Simon, Willie Nelson and B. B. King. In 1975, he arranged Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue" which crossed over and reached number three on the Pop chart. He also worked with G. C. Cameron, former lead singer of the Spinners, the Pointer Sisters and many more. A twenty-track compilation album of Quezergue's lesser-known works from this era, titled Strung Out, was released in 2004.
In the 1980s, Quezergue worked with the Neville brothers. In 1992, he produced and arranged Dr. John's Grammy Award–winning album Goin' Back to New Orleans. In the late 1990s, Quezergue produced horn arrangements for two big band albums by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. In 2000, he released a classical composition titled A Creole Mass. The composition is a tribute to the fallen soldier who replaced Quezergue in combat decades earlier during the Korean War. In 2003, Quezergue produced an album for soul singer-songwriter Will Porter. The album, titled Happy, was recognized as best produced CD of the year by the New York Blues & Jazz Society. The album featured Billy Preston, Leo Nocentelli, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Strings.
In 2005, by then legally blind, Quezergue lost his belongings and musical scores in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The following year benefit concerts were held in his behalf, led by Dr. John with support from other leading musicians including REM's Mike Mills.
In 2009 Quezergue received an honorary doctorate in music from Loyola University New Orleans for his commitment to public service and the arts. He was known for enhancing the careers of others, dedication to teaching, and the development of New Orleans' distinctive horn sound. The same year a tribute to him was staged at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The concept of the show started with 'Dr. Ike' Padnos and the Ponderosa Stomp crew. A nine-piece band was assembled from New Orleans to accompany Dr. John, Robert Parker, Jean Knight and the Dixie Cups. By then a veteran arranger in his later years, Quezergue showed his longevity by conducting the concert. Also in 2009. he released an album titled Music for Children Ages 3 to 103. The twelve-track album was funded by the Jazz Foundation of America.
In 2010, Quezergue was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. In 2011, he finished two works: The Passion, and an album by Will Porter. The Passion is a classical composition based on the religious theme of resurrection. It was composed over a two-year period. In August 2011, Quezergue approved final mixes of Will Porter's album Tick Tock Tick. The album featured Dr. John, Bettye LaVette, bassist Jimmy Haslip, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, drummer Bernard "Bunchy" Johnson and the Louisiana Philharmonic Strings.
Quezergue died on September 6, 2011, in New Orleans at age 81. His wife of 60 years, Yoshi Tamaki, predeceased him in May 2011.
*****
March 13
*Jazz trumpeter Richard "Blue" Mitchell was born in Miami, Florida.
Richard Allen (Blue) Mitchell (b. March 13, 1930, Miami, Florida – d. May 21, 1979, Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman on Blue Note Records.
Mitchell was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He began playing trumpet in high school where he acquired his nickname, Blue.
After high school he played in the rhythm and blues ensembles of Paul Williams, Earl Bostic, and Chuck Willis. After returning to Miami he was noticed by Cannonball Adderley, with whom he recorded for Riverside Records in New York in 1958. He then joined the Horace Silver Quintet playing with tenor Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Roy Brooks. Mitchell stayed with Silver’s group until the band’s break-up in 1964. After the Silver quintet disbanded, Mitchell formed a group employing members from the Silver quintet substituting the young pianist Chick Corea for Silver and replacing a then sick Brooks with drummer Al Foster. This group produced a number of records for Blue Note disbanding in 1969, after which Mitchell joined and toured with Ray Charles until 1971. From 1971 to 1973 Mitchell performed with John Mayall on Jazz Blues Fusion.
From the mid-1970s, Mitchell recorded, and worked, as a session man; performed with the big band leaders Louie Bellson, Bill Holman and Bill Berry; and was principal soloist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Other band leaders Mitchell recorded with include Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon and Jimmy Smith. Blue Mitchell kept his hard-bop playing going with the Harold Land quintet up until his death from cancer on May 21, 1979, in Los Angeles, at the age of 49.
*****
March 14
*Ed Wiley, Jr., an African American tenor saxophonist, was born in Houston, Texas.
Ed Wiley Jr. (b. March 14, 1930, Houston, Texas – d. September 27, 2010, Garner, North Carolina) was an American tenor saxophonist whose big sound and soulful expression helped lay the foundation for early blues, R&B and what would later come to be known as “rock-and-roll” music.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, when brash, honking tenormen were the driving force behind Texas blues and R&B, Wiley's bold, soulful delivery established him as a mainstay of the post-World War II music world. In later years, after more than a decade away from touring and recording, Wiley would re-emerge on the jazz scene, touring and recording with many of the leading musicians of the genre. Although Wiley never abandoned the rich, soulful style he honed during his early years, his later recordings showed a greater appreciation for bebop, and he collaborated with such stalwarts of the bebop era as drummers Mickey Roker, Bobby Durham and Ben Riley; bassists Keter Betts and Charles Fambrough; and pianists John Hicks, Kenny Barron and Roland Hanna.
Wiley was born in Houston's Fourth Ward. His parents divorced when he was very young, and Wiley was raised by his mother, Vanilla Yancy, and two sisters. Wiley attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he played clarinet in the marching band and concert band. In his final year of high school, Wiley, who cited Lester Young, Arnett Cobb and Gene Ammons as his leading influences, began playing saxophone at local dances. By his 18th birthday, he had recorded on several upstart Texas labels and was a regular at such venues as Houston's Eldorado Ballroom and the Bronze Peacock, and Don's Keyhole in San Antonio.
Wiley is among a long lineage of “Texas tenor” reedmen, known for their bold, bluesy, and often boisterous way of blowing. They included such saxophone legends as James Clay, Arnett Cobb, King Curtis, Booker Ervin, Illinois Jacquet, David "Fathead" Newman, Buddy Tate and Donald Wilkerson. There were also several other horn players – such as Chicagoan Gene Ammons, Floridian Willis Jackson and Missourian Lester Young – who shared the Texas tenor pedigree because of their sound rather than their hometown.
New York record producers Bob and Morty Shad decided that it was Wiley’s robust sound that would be the common denominator on the dozens of blues recordings they would issue on their Sittin' in With and Mercury labels. Thus, in addition to the numerous releases under his own name, Wiley is perhaps the most ubiquitous band leader backing a copious list of renowned Texas bluesmen, including Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, James “Widemouth” Brown, Nelson Carson, Goree Carter, Peppermint Harris, Smokey Hogg, Elmore Nixon, Teddy Reynolds and King Tut, among others.
Wiley already had gained some local notoriety a year or two prior to meeting the Shads, performing throughout Texas and Louisiana with such notables as Gatemouth, Amos Milburn, Big Mama Thornton, Perry Cain and Henry Hayes. Between 1948 and 1949, Wiley appeared on several sides for Freedom, Gold Star and Jade records.
But Wiley got his first taste of national fame when a 78 that he recorded in 1949 for Sittin' In With climbed the R&B charts in the spring of 1950. "Cry Cry Baby”, which featured fellow Houstonian Teddy Reynolds on piano and vocals, was a Cash Box hit, making it to No. 3 on The Billboard.
In late 1950, Wiley would leave Houston for good, heading to Baltimore to live with a relative and further his music education. It was at the Olde Mill in Baltimore that he met Piney Brown. The two teamed up for a series of tours, adding pianist and fellow crooner Roosevelt Wardell. Wardell was just 16 years old at the time he met Wiley, but he had gained some notoriety of his own for the regional hit “Bernice” b/w “She Drinks Much Wine,” on the Melford label.
It did not take long for the group to land a spot with the Shaw Artists agency, which booked them throughout the South and Midwest. After some months on the road, they again bumped into Shad, this time in Shreveport, Louisiana. At a radio station there, they cut four more sides for Sittin' In With, with Wiley as the leader: “Pack Up, Move Out” and “Molasses, Molasses,” both featuring Piney Brown on vocals; and “West Indies Blues” and “Jumpin’ With the Blues,” instrumentals.
The following year, Piney Brown left the group, going on to record for various labels. But Wardell would remain with Wiley, recording together on numerous other occasions, including sessions for Atlantic, Rockin’, DeLuxe and King Records. Wiley and Wardell would remain close friends until Wardell died following a stroke-induced illness. Wardell died in 1999 at the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill in Smyrna, Delaware.
In 1952, the Continental booking agency paired Wiley with singer Jackie Brenston, who had released the hit "Rocket 88" for Chess one year earlier. Brenston had been one of pianist Ike Turner's Delta Cats, from Clarksdale, Mississippi. "Rocket 88," widely considered the first “rock-and-roll” record, had sizzled for a spell, but the fervor over the R&B hit soon died, about the same time that Wiley's stock was rising. Continental also suggested that Wiley include two other Clarksdale musicians, blues crooner "Screamin'" Johnny O'Neal and guitarist Earl Hooker, one of the most versatile and gifted guitarists of the early 1950s.
It is important to mention this influential musician, because Hooker’s collaboration with Wiley marked his introduction to the recording world. The Hooker/O’Neal/Wiley combination was a potentially promising one, and it drew the attention of the talent scout for the Cincinnati-based King Recording Company who attended one of their tear-it-up performances at a Bradenton, Florida, nightclub.
While the combo, which also included Wardell on piano, recorded several sides for King Recording Company, only two, "Johnny Sings the Blues” (featuring an alert bebop tenor sax solo contributed by Ed Wiley) and "I've Seen So Many Hard Times" (a slow, soulful moaning blues showcasing O'Neal’s serious blues chops) were ever released.
While performing an extended tour date at the Top Hat in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1952, Wiley allowed a local singer named Harvey Fuqua to sit in. By the time Wiley’s group departed a few weeks later, Fuqua and his singing partner, Bobby Lester, were members of the band. Fuqua – who went on to form the legendary doo-wop group The Moonglows and to produce numerous hits for Motown records – would always credit Wiley with giving him his first break in music and for teaching him how to sing blues and jump blues, precursors to rock and roll and modern soul music. Prior to joining Wiley, Fuqua and Lester specialized in vocalese, a style of singing where improvised solos are replaced with words.
When popular disc jockey Alan Freed – importantly, the man credited with coining the term “rock and roll” – heard the remodeled songsters, he began managing and promoting the duo, and prompted them to change their name to “The Moonglows.” Fuqua and Lester also performed on Freed's touring rock-and-roll revues and in the movies "Rock, Rock, Rock" (1956) and "Mister Rock and Roll" (1957).”
Some blues aficionados contend that Texas blues pioneers can justifiably lay claim to the creation of rock and roll. Thomas Kreason, executive director of the Texas Musicians Museum in Hillsboro, for one, is among those who argue that Wiley studio mate Goree Carter’s seminal “Rock Awhile” was actually the first rock and roll recording. He notes a distinctive guitar rift as the song modulates, a technique later adopted by Chuck Berry and other early rock-and-roll stars, and he reminds that Carter’s 1949 Freedom recording was released a full two years ahead of Brenston’s “Rocket 88.”
In fact, southern Black musicians had been playing rock-and-roll-sounding music – albeit under a different moniker – long before either of those recordings. It is doubtful, however, that Ed Wiley, Goree Carter, Jackie Brenston, Ike Turner, Earl Hooker, Harvey Fuqua or any of the 1940s- and 1950s-era architects of rock and roll realized the historic role they would play in the development of that genre or other forms of modern music.
After moving from Baltimore to Philadelphia in the early 1950s, Wiley’s bands took on a distinctive new look for the next several years. He would only occasionally revisit the road, joining Big Joe Turner, Al Hibbler and Brook Benton, among others. In 1954, Wiley married singer Maye Robinson, whom he had signed with the band the previous year while touring through Chester, Pa. And, over the next several years, his groups often featured Maye – sometimes leading a Supremes-like trio, called The Inversions.
Having worked in Baltimore and New York with organist Fabulous Preston, Wiley discovered that his favorite ensembles were organ trios. He capitalized on the organ craze that had engulfed the City of Brotherly Love during the mid- to late-’50s, and began featuring such organists as Shirley Scott, Bill Hathaway and Bill Miller. Scott, was a piano player in Philly, and she had never played Hammond organ before. Scott's recordings with Wiley were her first time ever playing organ with a group.
Hathaway would appear with Wiley on his 1971 release “Stretchin’ Out,” a funky, driving instrumental with organ, trumpets, bass, drums and percussion. The reverse side, “Young Generation,” a call for youths to guide a war- and race-obsessed nation toward peace, showed for the first time that Wiley could also sing. The 45 was recorded for Na-Cat records, a small Philadelphia imprint owned by Nate and Cathy Strand.
By 1960, Wiley had given up the road altogether, becoming a machinist and taking local and regional gigs. But he still appeared with many of Philadelphia’s leading jazz and R&B exponents of the day, including trumpeter Johnny Coles, and singers Harold Melvin, Billy Paul and Teddy Pendergrass. His Na-Cat release would be his last recording for the next nine years. From 1971 to 1984, Wiley – now with seven children to support – played only in church on Sunday mornings.
In 1980, Wiley recorded a gospel LP, My Tribute. The album, on the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Forward in Faith label, featured his wife on a bluesy original vocal, "Isn't It Wonderful"; his oldest son, Ed III, on percussions; and his next-to-oldest son, Duane, on drums. The uneven recording – a mixture of tunes that included everything from a Black gospel choir to a classically trained White singer – got little radio exposure outside of a few Christian-oriented stations.
However, by the mid-1980s, Wiley, then recently divorced, began touring again. In 1993, he teamed up with former Jazz Messenger bassist Charles Fambrough, who produced Wiley's first recording in more than a dozen years, Until Sunrise, on Swing Records, a label founded by Ed III. In addition to Fambrough, the date included other noted jazz musicians, such as drummer Bobby Durham and Kool & the Gang trombonist Clifford Adams.
But it was 1995's "In Remembrance," also on Swing, that marked Wiley's re-emergence as a force in the music world. The recording brought together a who's who of jazz greats, including his longtime friend Shirley Scott; bass veteran Milt Hinton and bass newcomer David Ephross, Bobby Durham and Mickey Roker on drums; Wycliffe Gordon on trombone; and trumpeter Terell Stafford. On this offering, Wiley connects the Black musical experience, from the Negro spiritual to bebop.
Following the release, USA Today called Wiley "jazz's comeback kid," adding that few match his "guttural sound. …He's honed a rich, gospel-like sax tone that also borrows from R&B and jazz." Two months later, The Washington Post noted, "Whether he's playing the blues, counting his blessings or paying homage on 'In Remembrance,' veteran saxophonist Ed Wiley Jr. Projects the resonant sound and soulful assurance so closely associated with the 'Texas Tenor' tradition. No matter that he long ago moved north and settled in Philadelphia. He's still got the touch."
Wiley would return to the studio frequently throughout the 2000s, always surrounded by a cross generation of renowned accompanists, including pianists Kenny Barron, Roland Hanna and John Hicks; trombonist Al Grey; trumpeters Nicholas Payton and John Swana; organist Joey DeFrancesco; and guitarists Mark Elf, Kevin McNeal and Jimmy Ponder; and drummer Ben Riley.
In 2000, after 48 years, Wiley and blues singer Piney Brown reunited to perform at the Blues Estafette, a revue featuring the greats of blues, in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
In February 2010, Wiley moved to Garner, North Carolina, to live with his oldest son.
Ed Wiley died on September 27, 2010, in Garner, after an injury from a fall.
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See also Appendix 33: Goree Carter, The Forefather of Rock and Roll
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March 15
*Shadi Abdel Salam, an Egyptian film director known for directing the classic Egyptian film, The Night of Counting the Years, was born in Alexandria, Egypt.
Shadi Abdel Salam (Arabic: Shadi ʿAbd al-Salam) (b. March 15, 1930, Alexandria, Egypt - d. October 8, 1986, Cairo, Egypt) was an Egyptian film director, screenwriter and costume and set designer.
Born in Alexandria on March 15, 1930, Shadi graduated from Victoria College, Alexandria, in 1948, and then moved to England to study theater arts from 1949 to 1950. Shadi then joined the faculty of fine arts in Cairo where he graduated as an architect in 1955. He worked as assistant to the artistic architect, Ramsis W. Wassef in 1957, and designed the decorations and costumes of some of the most famous historical Egyptian films such as Wa Islamah, Maww'ed fil Bourg, Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din, and Almaz wa Abdu El Hamouly. Shadi also worked as a historical consultant and supervisor of the decoration, costumes and accessories sections of the Polish film, Pharaoh, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
Shadi is best known for directing the long drama film entitled The Night of Counting the Years (also known as The Mummy - Al-Momiaa), 1968–1969. Shadi received many film accolades for this work and The Night of Counting the Years has been named the third best Egyptian film on the list of the 100 Greatest Egyptian films.
Shadi also directed the Ancient Egyptian short drama film entitled The Eloquent Peasant. Notably, Shadi once worked as the Director of the Ministry of Culture Center for experimental films in 1970. He also wrote the scenario of the long drama film entitled "Ikhnatoun" and finalized the relevant designs from 1974–1985.
Shadi taught at the Cinema Higher Institute of Egypt in the Departments of Decorations, Costumes and Film Direction from 1963–1969.
Shadi died on October 8, 1986, in Cairo, Egypt.
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See also Appendix 15: The Night of Counting the Years
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March 18
*Mahmoud Reda, an Egyptian dancer and choreographer best known for co-founding the Reda Troupe, was born in Cairo, Egypt.
Mahmoud Reda (b. March 18, 1930, Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt [today Egypt] – d. July 10, 2020) was an Egyptian dancer and choreographer, best known for co-founding the Reda Troupe, and as an Olympic gymnast.
Reda was born in Cairo, Egypt. He was the eighth of ten children and his father was the head librarian at Cairo University. His elder brother, Ali, was a dancer and through his influence (and that of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire films), Mahmoud became interested in dance. He originally trained as a gymnast, representing Egypt in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
Reda attended Cairo University where he received a degree in political economics. However, his main interest was dance and he joined an Argentinian dance troupe after graduating and toured Europe. While on tour in Paris he resolved to start his own dance troupe back in Egypt, but due to lack of funds he had to work as an accountant for Royal Dutch Shell. He joined the Heliolido Club in Cairo, where he met Anglo-Egyptian baladi dancer Farida Fahmy, who became his dancing partner. After the two performed in the Soviet Union in 1957, they decided to start a folk dancing troupe in Egypt with his brother, Ali Reda.
When the Reda brothers and Fahmy founded the state-sponsored Reda Troupe in 1959 it consisted of only twelve dancers and twelve musicians. Reda's choreography combined traditional Egyptian folk dances with Western styles like ballet.
Due to the social connections of Fahmy and her family, the normally stigmatized profession of dance soon became acceptable by Cairo society and both men and women attended performances by the troupe.
Although the Reda Troupe was well known in Cairo society, initially it was not in Egypt as a whole. That changed in 1961, however, when Mahmoud Reda and Fahmy starred in the film Igazah nisf as-sinah along with the rest of the troupe. Directed by Ali Reda, the film was responsible for popularizing the Reda Troupe among ordinary Egyptians. The team followed this success with Gharam fi al-karnak in 1967. In 1970, the troupe appeared in a third film Harami El-Waraqa.
Reda stepped down as the principal dancer of the troupe in 1972, but still continued choreographing and directing performances. By this time, the troupe had grown to one hundred and fifty dancers, musicians and stage crew. Under Reda's direction, the Reda Troupe toured the world, giving performances at Carnegie Hall, and in China. They went on five international tours during his tenure, performing for various world leaders.
In 1990, Reda retired as director of the Reda Troupe.After his retirement, Reda continued to teach dance workshops in Egypt and internationally.
Reda married Farida Fahmy's elder sister Nadeeda Fahmy in 1955. She served as the costume designer for the Reda Troupe until her death from rheumatic heart disease in 1960. His second wife was a Yugoslavian ballet dancer, with whom he had a daughter, Shereen.
He died on July 10, 2020.
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March 19
*Paul Robeson played the title role of Othello at the Savoy Theatre, London, England, with Peggy Ashcroft as Desdemona.
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March 20
*Marie Basse, a Senegalese physician who became a child protection and food advocate, was born in Rufisque, Senegal.
Marie Senghor Basse (b. March 20, 1930, Rufisque, Senegal - d. 2019), full name Marie-Therese Camille Senghor Basse, was a Senegalese physician who led the Centre de protection maternelle et infantile (Maternal and Child Protection Center). Basse represented Senegal at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and directed the Institute of Food Technology.
Basse was the niece of the first Senegalese Head of State, Leopold Senghor. Basse graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Paris in 1957.
In 1958, Basse was assigned to the Bally Hospital in Conakry, then transferred to the medical district of Boke. After residing in Guinea for two years, Basse returned to Senegal, where she was in charge of directing the Maternal and Child Protection Center. Later, in Italy, she served as Senegal's permanent representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from 1961 to 1966. There she worked alongside her husband Edouard Camille Basse, the Senegalese ambassador to Italy.
Upon the couple's return to Senegal, Basse was assigned as a medical inspector to the Dakar Medical School for two years. In 1968, she was appointed director of Senegal's l'Institut de Technologie Alimentaire (Institute of Food Technology) where she researched the processing of fruits, vegetables, grains, and animal products.
Basse was frequently seen on Senegalese national television (ORTS) promoting "local consumption" of foods. This was done by changing behavior and eating habits. She showed women and households healthy ways to consume local products such as pamiblé bread, corn or millet cakes, concentrated juices of local produce such as bissap and maad, and beef charcuterie.
In 1981, Basse joined Prime Minister Habib Thiam's office as a technical advisor. Also in 1981, Basse enrolled in the Dakar Business Management School and earned an MBA degree in business management in 1983. That year, she joined President Abdou Diouf's office as a technical advisor, an office she held for two years.
Basse was a founding member of the Senegalese section of the African Cultural Community, an organization founded by Wole Soyinka that seeks to aid African intellectuals and artists in adapting to the unique challenges of the modern era.
Marie Senghor Basse died in 2019.
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March 21
*President Hoover appointed Judge John J. Parker of North Carolina, a known racist, to the Supreme Court. The NAACP launched a successful campaign against Parker's confirmation.
John Johnston Parker (b. November 20, 1885, Monroe, North Carolina – d. March 17, 1958, Washington, D. C.) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was an unsuccessful nominee for Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1930. He was also the United State's alternate judge at the Nuremberg trials of accused Nazi war criminals and later served on the United Nations' International Law Commission.
Born on November 20, 1885, in Monroe, North Carolina, Parker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a Bachelor of Laws in 1908 from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He entered private practice in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1908 to 1909. He was in private practice in Monroe from 1909 to 1922. He was a Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina in 1910. He was a candidate for Attorney General of North Carolina in 1916. Parker was the Republican candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 1920. He was in private practice in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1922 to 1925. He was a special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1923 to 1924.
Parker received a recess appointment from President Calvin Coolidge on October 3, 1925, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Judge Charles Albert Woods. He was nominated to the same position by President Coolidge on December 8, 1925. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 1925, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges (now the Judicial Conference of the United States) from 1931 to 1948, and was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1948 to 1957. Parker served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1958. His service terminated on March 17, 1958, due to his death in Washington, D. C. At the time of his death, Parker was the last appeals court judge appointed by President Coolidge still in active service.
On March 21, 1930, Parker was nominated by President Herbert Hoover to the United States Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Edward Terry Sanford, but, as a result of political opposition, was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 41-39.
Parker was opposed by labor groups because of an opinion he had written regarding the United Mine Workers and yellow-dog contracts -- contracts which prohibited workers from joining a union as a condition of employment. Parker was also opposed by the nascent National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- the NAACP -- because of remarks he had made while a candidate for North Carolina governor in 1920 about the participation of African Americans in the political process: "The participation of the Negro in politics," said Parker, "is a source of evil and danger to both races and is not desired by the wise men in either race or by the Republican Party of North Carolina." The NAACP asked Parker if he had been quoted correctly, and asked him if he still held such views. Parker never responded. Parker's supporters pointed out that his opinion in the labor case closely followed Supreme Court precedent and his 1920 remarks were in response to charges that the Republican Party was organizing the African American vote.
Rather than lobbying senators, the usual practice of the NAACP, Walter White, the new Executive Secretary of the NAACP, urged the branches and members to telegraph their senators and threaten to oppose them in the elections that were to take place later that year. When the Senate narrowly defeated Parker's nomination 41-39, White said the NAACP's opposition had been the deciding factor and lavished praise on the branches that had threatened their senators with their opposition to any who supported Parker.
The rejection of Parker's nomination by the United States Senate was a major victory for the NAACP and was the first such Supreme Court nomination rejected through a roll call vote since that of Wheeler Hazard Peckham in 1894. After the Senate rejected Parker's nomination, President Hoover nominated Owen Roberts to the seat, and the Senate voted to confirm Roberts on May 20, 1930.
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Otis Spann, the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist, was born in Jackson, Mississippi.
Otis Spann (b. March 21, 1930, Jackson, Mississippi – d. April 24, 1970, Chicago, Illinois) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.
Sources differ over Spann's early years. Most state that he was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1930, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc concluded on the basis of census records and other official information that he was born in 1924 in Belzoni, Mississippi.
Spann's father was a pianist called Friday Ford. His mother, Josephine Erby, was a guitarist who had worked with Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smit, and his stepfather, Frank Houston Spann, was a preacher and musician. One of five children, Spann began playing the piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from Friday Ford, Frank Spann, and Little Brother Montgomery.
By the age of 14, he was playing in bands in the Jackson area. He moved to Chicago in 1946, where he was mentored by Big Maceo Merriweather. Spann performed as a solo act and with the guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge. Spann was known for his distinctive piano style. He became Muddy Waters' piano player in late 1952 and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953. He played on many of Waters' most famous songs, including the blues standards "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", and "Got My Mojo Working". He continued to record as a solo artist and session player with other musicians, including Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf, during his tenure with the group. He stayed with Muddy Waters until 1968.
Spann's work for Chess Records includes the 1954 single "It Must Have Been the Devil" backed with "Five Spot", with B. B. King and Jody Williams on guitars. He is credited for playing piano on a couple of Chuch Berry songs, including "You Can't Catch Me" (1956), but others indicate that it could have been Berry's regular pianist Johnnie Johnson. In 1956, he recorded two unreleased tracks with Big Walter Horton and Robert Lockwood. He recorded a session with the guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. and vocalist St. Louis Jimmy in New York on August 23, 1960, which was issued on the albums Otis Spann Is the Blues and Walking the Blues. A 1963 session for Storyville Records was recorded in Copenhagen. He worked with Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton on recordings for Decca Records and with James Cotton for Prestige in 1964.
The Blues Is Where It's At, Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, includes contributions from George "Harmonica" Smith, Muddy Waters, and Sammy Lawhorn. The Bottom of the Blues (1967), featuring Spann's wife, Lucille Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994), was released by Bluesway. He worked on albums with Buddy Guy. Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green, and Fleetwood Mac in the late 1960s. In 2012, Silk City Records released Someday which featured live and studio performances from 1967 produced by the noted blues guitarist Son Lewis.
DVD recordings of Spann include his performances at the Newport Jazz Festival (1960), the American Folk Blues Festival (1963), the Blues Masters (1966), and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (1968).
Spann died of liver cancer in Chicago on April 24, 1970. He was buried in Burr Oak Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. His grave was unmarked for almost thirty years, until Steve Salter (president of the Killer Blues Headstone Project) wrote a letter to Blues Revue magazine, saying, "This piano great is lying in an unmarked grave. Let's do something about this deplorable situation". Blues enthusiasts from around the world sent donations to purchase a headstone. On June 6, 1999, the marker was unveiled in a private ceremony. The stone is inscribed, "Otis played the deepest blues we ever heard – He'll play forever in our hearts".
In 1972, the site of the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival was named "Otis Spann Memorial Field". That same year, Village Voice critic Robert Christau called Spann "the greatest modern blues pianist". He later included Spann's 1972 Barnaby compilation Walking the Blues in "A Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s music, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).
Spann was posthumously elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980. On November 13, 2012, Spann (along with cousin and fellow pianist Little Johnnie Jones) received a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker plaque, erected at 547 South Roach Street in Jackson, Mississippi where the family lived in the 1930s and 1940s.
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See also Appendix 18: The Blues
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March 22
*Willie Thrower, the first African American to appear at the quarterback position in the National Football League, was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania.
See also Appendix 22: Willie Thrower, The First African American National Football League Quarterback
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*Ahmad Ramzy, an Egyptian actor who played the leading roles in many Egyptian films, was born in Alexandria, Egypt.
Ahmad Ramzy (b. March 23, 1930, Alexandria, Egypt – d. September 28, 2012, Matrouh, Egypt) was an Egyptian actor who played the leading roles in many Egyptian films in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Ramzy was born Ramzi Mahmud Bayyumi on March 23, 1930, to Dr. Mahmud Bayumi, an Egyptian orthopedist and university professor father,
Ramzy graduated from Alexandria's Victoria College where he met someone by the name of Michel Dimitri Challhub, the man who would later become known as Omar Sharif who would became Ramzy's very close friend.
After finishing school, Ramzy matriculated in the medical school for 3 years, before transferring to the Faculty of Commerce, which he eventually dropped to pursue his career in acting.
Ahmad Ramzy was discovered by Helmy Halim on February 15, 1955, while playing snooker in a club. He was cast by Halim in his first role, as "Ramzy" in Ayyamna al-Halwa (Our Best Days), along with Faten Hamama, Abdel Halim Hafez, and his lifelong friend and schoolmate Omar Sharif. The film was a box office hit. In this film he also starred, for the first time, with another very close lifetime friend, Abdel Halim Hafez.
1956 saw Ramzy's first starring role in Hob wa Dumoo' (Love and Tears) with Faten Hamama.
The late 1950s were very good to Ramzy, as he participated in many movies and became famous for the role of the funny playboy and the romantic womanizer. When the 1960s began, new young actors began to appear taking more of the roles that Ramzy was playing, but that did not stop Ramzy from continuing with these roles.
By the early 1960s, making films with more than one leading star was in favor, Ramzy teamed up with other stars or younger actors like Hassan Youseff, Youssef Fakhr Eddine, Mohamed Awad and others in films that featured a trio stars. Films with titles like The 3 wild ones, The 3 adventures and more were made and this tendency lasted to the early 1970s.
During the 1970s, Ramzy began participating in foreign movies shot outside Egypt, He participated in movies produced in Italy (such as Il Figlio di Spartacus (The Son of Spartacus)); in Lebanon (such as Fondok El Saada (Hotel of Joy)); and in Syria (such as Banat lil Hob (Girls for Love)). Ramzy's active years began to be fade due to age and the changing times in cinema.
Ramzy's 1974 film Al Abtal (The Heroes), which co-starred Farid Shawki, was notable for the fact that it was Egypt's first martial arts film and used the soundtrack of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.
By the mid-1970s, Ramzy began saying goodbye to the cinema. From 1979 to 1981, Ramzy made only two films, then he focused on his trading business. He was persuaded to make a comeback in 1999 in the film Ket El Saharaa (Desert Cat) followed by a television series "Wajh al-Qamar" ("Face of the Moon") with Faten Hamama in 2001.
At the dawn of the new millennium, Ramzy participated in another film by the name of El Warda El Hamra (The Red Rose) with actress Yousra and his last appearance was in a television series called "Hanan W Haneen" with his friend Omar Sharif, Omar's grandson (Omar Sharif, Jr.), and Kareem Hamdy in 2007.
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March 24
*David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic, was born in the village of Bouchia, near Mbaiki in the Lobaye region, which was then a part of the French Equatorial African territory of Moyen Congo (Middle Congo) (March 24).
David Dacko (b. March 24,1930, Bouchia, Moyen-Congo, French Equatorial Africa [now in the Central African Republic] – d. November 20, 2003, Yaounde, Cameroon) was the first President of the Central African Republic from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third President from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981. After his second removal from power in a coup d'etat led by General Andre Kolingba, he pursued an active career as an opposition politician and presidential candidate with many loyal supporters. Dacko was an important political figure in the country for over 50 years.
David Dacko, a former teacher, held ministerial posts under Barthelemy Boganda, the prime minister of the autonomous Central African Republic. Claiming a family relationship, Dacko succeeded to the prime ministership in 1959 after Boganda’s death. In 1960, the republic gained its full independence, and Dacko became the country’s first president. He ruled the Central African Republic as a one-party state and in 1962 easily won the presidential elections. Dacko was unable to improve the country’s failing economy, however, and, with the Central African Republic facing bankruptcy, he was overthrown by Jean-Bedel Bokassa on the night of December 31, 1965/January 1, 1966.
On September 21, 1979, after 13 years of brutal rule (which included Bokassa’s proclamation of a “Central African Empire”), Dacko, aided by French troops, in turn overthrew Bokassa, announcing that the country would revert to a republic with Dacko as president. His presidency was again plagued by numerous problems. Soon after taking office, Dacko survived an assassination attempt, and, following his re-election in 1981, there were riots in Bangui. Dacko was removed from office in September 1981, when General André Kolingba seized power.
On September 1, 1981, Dacko was overthrown in a bloodless coup carried out by army chief of staff General Andre Kolingba, who may have had the support of local French security officers who are suspected of having acted without authorization from Francois Mitterand's new Socialist government in France. Such allegations may never be substantiated, but Kolingba did subsequently enjoy a very close relationship with France and a presidential security team led by Colonel Mantion. Dacko, unharmed, later returned to politics to lead the Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD), a party opposing Kolingba. Dacko participated in the presidential elections of 1992 and 1993 and in the latter obtained 20.10% of the votes cast.
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was the fourth President of the Central African Republic (CAR), from September 1, 1981 until October 1, 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'etat in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Felix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993.
During Patassé's first and second presidential terms (1993–99 and 1999–2003), Dacko continued to participate actively in politics as a leader of the opposition. Dacko and Kolingba were the main leaders of the opposition, with Kolingba having more influence than Dacko. Dacko ran for president for the last time in the 1999 elections, coming in third place with 11.2% of the vote.
After General Francois Bozize overthrew Patassé and proclaimed himself president, Dacko participated in the Dialogue nationale (National Dialogue) that began on September 9, 2003, but shortly thereafter, on September 27, 2003, Dacko suffered a chronic asthma attack. He headed to France to seek treatment, but during a stopover in Yaounde, Cameroon on November 7, Dacko was taken to the General Hospital of Yaounde where he died at 10 p.m. on 20 November 20, 2003.
The Central African government declared a month of national mourning in Dacko's memory. On December 13, 2003, he was buried in Mokinda, near his residence.
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***** *Hayes Edward Sanders, the first African American Olympic Heavyweight Boxing Champion, was born in Watts, Los Angeles, California.
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See also Appendix 40: "Big Ed" Sanders, The First African American Olympic Heavyweight Boxing Gold Medalist
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March 30
*Sterling Betancourt, a Trinidad-born musical pioneer, inventor, and arranger who became a major figure in pioneering the steel pan in Europe and the United Kingdom, was born in Laventille, near Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Sterling Betancourt (b. March 30, 1930, Laventille, near Port of Spain, Trinidad) was born and raised in Laventille, near Port of Spain, Trinidad. His father, Edwin, was a musician and a man of many trades trying to make ends meet. His mother, Stella Bowen, was a seamstress and a cleaner. At a very early age, Betancourt was involved with music with the Tambo Bambo family band and grew up experimenting with the steel pan, becoming a member of the Tripoli Steel band. He began his career in the 1930s and became a steel pan tuner and eventually leader of Crossfire, a steel band from the St. James area. He also played a large part in the development of steel pan in Trinidad,
Selected as a member of TASPO (Trinidad All-Steel Percussion Orchestra) to go to the Festival of Britain in 1951, Betancourt toured England and Europe with the band that year. He was the only musician of TASPO to remain on in England when the others returned to Trinidad on December 12, 1951.
Betancourt together with Russell Henderson and Mervyn Constantine, who later on was replaced by Max Cherrie, followed by his brother Ralph Cherrie, formed the first steelband in the United Kingdom and performed all over London as well as in radio shows, jazz clubs and on the BBC.
In 1953, Betancourt was taught by Tony Kinsey to play the traps drums in order to form The Henderson combo. Henderson, Betancourt and their group participated in the multi-cultural Notting Hill street festival organized in 1966 by Rhaune Laslett. The appearance of the Henderson combo was a huge success and led to the growth in popularity of the festival and its Trinidadian musicality.
Betancourt also took steelpan to many other countries throughout Europe and Asia, including Switzerland, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Morocco, Indonesia, Germany, Spain, France, Oman, Italy, Sicily, Sweden and Norway.
A 1976 performance Betancourt gave in a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, inspired some locals to form their own Swiss group, which they called Tropefieber ("Tropical Fever"), the first steel band in Zurich, followed then by many others.
In 1985 Betancourt's steel band, "Nostalgia", was born and continued with him as the leader, player and arranger until 2005.
The honors and awards that Betancourt received include: in 1993, Trinidad and Tobago’s Scarlet Ibis award; a University of East London Honorary Fellowship in 1996; a membership of the FRSA (Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts) for his commitment in promoting steelpan culture throughout the United Kingdom, and pioneering steelpan projects in English schools; and in the same year, the New York Sunshine Award.
Betancourt was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours 2002 "for services to the steel band movement". In 2004, Betancourt received a Fellowship of the Royal Society; in 2006, a Pantrinbago Pioneer award; in 2010, Pan Jazz Life Time Achievement award; and, in 2011, a Pan Trinbago Commemorative Plaque for Life Time Achievement.
In 2012, on the occasion of the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Jubilee celebrations, he was a recipient of one of the Arts awards recognizng citizens who made a positive contribution to the promotion and development of Trinidad and Tobago in the United Kingdom during the past 50 years, given at a gala dinner in London hosted by High Commissioner Garvin Nicholas.
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March 31
*Gugsa Welle, the husband of the Ethiopian Empress Zewditu and the Shum (Governor) of Begemder Province, was met by forces loyal to Negus Tafari (the future Haile Selassie) and was defeated at the Battle of Anchem. Gugsa Welle was killed in action.
Gugsa Welle (b. 1875, Marto in Yejju Province, Ethiopia – d. March 31, 1930), also known as Gugsa Wale, Gugsa Wolie and Gugsa Wele, was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite which was often at odds with the Ethiopian central government.Gugsa Wale was born in Marto in Yejju Province. He was the son of Ras Welle Betul and the nephew of Empress Taytu Betul. His half-sister, Kefey Wale, was the second wife of Ras Mangesha Yohannes, the natural son of Emperor Yohannes IV.
Taytu Betul arranged the marriage of Gugsa Wale to Leult Zewditu, the eldest daughter of Emperor Menelek II and an earlier wife. Gugsa and Zewditu were married in 1900, six years before her elevation to Empress. Gugsa was her fourth husband. Upon his marriage to Zewditu, Gugsa Wale was immediately promoted to Ras over Begemder Province. This alliance allowed Empress Taytu to extend her influence over this important province. Despite the political nature of this marriage, the two were happy. However, in 1909, Gugsa was summoned to Addis Ababa by Menelek II to respond to the charge that he had mistreated Zewditu.
Ras Gugsa came close to becoming the power behind the throne during the intrigue that characterized the years of Emperor Menelik II's senility. In 1909, the Empress Taytu made a serious effort to prevent the accession of Lij Iyasu as Menelik's successor. This led to the rumor that Empress Taytu and her brother, Ras Wale Betul, intended to move the capital to Gondar and make Ras Gugsa the Emperor. However, the Shewan aristocracy agreed that their authority, positions and honors depended on obeying Menelik's wishes, and they united behind Lij Iyasu as the successor. Despite this setback, Ras Gugsa initially supported the resulting status quo. When Dejazmach Abraha Araya rebelled in Tigray, Gugsa supported Dejazmach Abate Bwalu who was sent to suppress this threat, helping him to defeat Dejazmach Abraha in the Battle of Lake Ashenge on October 9.
However, once Iyasu was secure as Emperor the following year, Ras Gugsa was arrested on a murder charge. By late April, he was in chains in Addis Ababa and no longer a potential threat to the government. This confinement proved to be cruel. Gugsa was kept in chains for so long that his legs became swollen and the metal cut into his flesh. Zewditu begged Iyasu's short-lived Regent, Ras Tessema Nadew, to ease conditions for Gugsa. But it was not until 1915, when she was relegated to Falle, that Gugsa was released and the two were allowed to live together.
In 1916, a successful coup d'etat against Iyasu resulted in his being deposed and Zewditu being proclaimed Empress. Iyasu's father, Mikael of Wollo, then invaded Shewa Province with an army to restore Iyasu. Mikael was defeated in the Battle of Segale. With Iyasu deposed, Zewditu became "Queen of Kings" and Empress of Ethiopia, and her young cousin Tafari Makonnen became heir to the throne and Regent of the Empire.
Empress Zewditu and Gugsa were restored to good graces. But the Shewan leadership, leery of a resurgence of the influence of Dowager Empress Taitu and her family, forced Gugsa to separate from Zewditu and he was sent to Gondar where he served once again as Governor of Begemder. Gugsa also served as Governor of Semien at this time.
The crowning of Tafari Makonnen was controversial. He occupied the same territory as Zewditu rather than occupying a far off region in the empire. In Ethiopian history, two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the Emperor (in this case Empress), had never occupied the same location as their seat. Conservatives, including Balcha Safo, agitated to redress this perceived insult to the Empress and to the dignity of the crown. This state of agitation ultimately led to Ras Gugsa's rebellion in 1930. Gugsa saw Zewditu remaining as Empress and himself as the future Emperor. However, Empress Zewditu did not authorize or openly support his rebellious actions.
In January, Gugsa raised an army in Begemder. On March 28, Gugsa marched from his governorate at Gondar towards the capital. But, on March 31, he was met near the border by the Army of the Center (Mahel Sefari) and he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Anchem. News of Gugsa Wale's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the Empress died suddenly on April 2. Although it was long rumored that the Empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband, or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband, it has since been documented that the Empress succumbed to a flu-like fever (possibly typhoid) and complications from diabetes.
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In early 1930, Gugsa Welle, the husband of the empress Zewditu and the Shum (Governor) of Begemder Province, raised an army and marched it from his governorate at Gondar towards Addis Adaba. On March 31, 1930, Gugsa Welle was met by forces loyal to Negus Tafari (the future Haile Selassie) and was defeated at the Battle of Anchem. Gugsa Welle was killed in action. News of Gugsa Welle's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa when the empress died suddenly on April 2, 1930. Although it was long rumored that the empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband, or alternately that she died from shock upon hearing of the death of her estranged yet beloved husband, it has since been documented that the Empress succumbed to a flu-like fever and complications from diabetes.
With the passing of Zewditu, Tafari himself rose to emperor and was proclaimed Neguse Negest ze-'Ityopp'ya, "King of Kings of Ethiopia". He was crowned on November 2, 1930, at Addis Adaba's Cathedral of Saint George. The coronation was attended by royals and dignitaries from all over the world. Among those in attendance were George V's son the Duke of Gloucester, Marshal Franchet d'Esperey of France, and the Prince of Udine representing the King of Italy. Emissaries from the United States, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan were also present. British author Evelyn Waugh was also present, penning a contemporary report on the event, and American travel lecturer Burton Holmes shot the only known film footage of the event. One newspaper report suggested that the celebration may have incurred a cost in excess of $3,000,000. Many of those in attendance received lavish gifts. In one instance, the Christian emperor even sent a gold-encased Bible to an American bishop who had not attended the coronation, but who had dedicated a prayer to the emperor on the day of the coronation.
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(See also Appendix 4: Ethiopian Imperial and Royal Titles.)
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