Browse Items (32 total)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/69313/archive/files/f77329267258313e95a6ff8e3c8ff4ff.mp3
Adams recalls an encounter with Sun Ra at Ra's induction, in 1979, to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in Birmingham, Alabama. Born in Birmingham in 1914, Herman Poole "Sonny" Blount would become famous as the iconoclastic, visionary jazz bandleader and…

https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/69313/archive/files/a4220707c7473dd9f8e9090013a91066.jpg
Herman "Sonny" Blount left his earthly home of Birmingham in 1946 for a long and influential career as Sun Ra; in 1989, he returned to the "Magic City" for the first annual City Stages music festival. At the festival's opening "Street Strut" parade,…

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https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/69313/archive/files/e080a30dcc3350e475dca2189cdfe84e.mp3
As a high school student in the 1940s, Frank Adams played in both the bands of Fess Whatley, Birmingham's celebrated "Maker of Musicians," and Herman "Sonny" Blount, later famous as Sun Ra. In this interview excerpt, Adams compares the experience of…

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https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/69313/archive/files/c2aad6217ced4a2da7d32d0e6e3289f8.mp3
In this interview excerpt, Frank Adams describes a conflict with high school bandleader (and legendary disciplinarian) John T. “Fess” Whatley – and an unexpected invitation from Sun Ra, the otherworldly bandleader then known as Sonny…

https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/69313/archive/files/3aae555b2aa477d3ec342c756060da9d.mp3
Frank Adams elaborates on his early experiences with Sun Ra. Adams joined Sonny Blount’s band as a teenager in the 1940s, before Blount left Birmingham for Chicago and became famous as Sun Ra. When this interview was recorded in 2012, Adams was the…

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Sun Ra at AJHOF induction 1980.jpg
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, 1980. Sun Ra sits at keyboard. J. L. Lowe stands in white tuxedo.

Courtesy Carol Clarke.

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Sun Ra Homegoing Program 1.jpeg
Homegoing Program for Sun Ra: bandleader, composer, poet-philosopher (1914-1993), Birmingham, Alabama.

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Sun Ra Chukker Flyer 2.jpeg
Flyer for Sun Ra's three-night engagement at Tuscaloosa, Alabama's The Chukker, April 1992.

Near the end of his earthly journey (Sun Ra departed the planet in May 1993), the bandleader performed three nights in his home state, at the Tuscaloosa…

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Kingsport_Times_Fri__Oct_12__1934_ copy.jpg
Press coverage in the Kingsport [TN] Times anticipating Fess Whatley's presentation of the Sonny Blount Orchestra. On the heels of his own successful 1934 summer tour, Whatley organized and promoted a tour along the same route, featuring the band of…

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The_Birmingham_News_Sun__Jul_14__1935_.jpg
Newspaper advertisement for Sonny Blount (Sun Ra) and his Orchestra at Birmingham's Highland Park Country Club. Birmingham News, July 14, 1935. On a recent tour north, the group had played Cincinnati's Castle Farm, a lavish venue known for hosting…

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The_Birmingham_Age_Herald_Sat__Jul_20__1935_.jpg
Newspaper advertisement for Sonny Blount (Sun Ra) and his Orchestra at Birmingham's Highland Park Country Club. Birmingham Age Herald, July 20, 1935. On a recent tour north, the group had played Cincinnati's Castle Farm, a lavish venue known for…

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The_Birmingham_Age_Herald_Fri__Aug_23__1935_.jpg
Newspaper advertisement for Sonny Blount (Sun Ra) and his Orchestra on radio station WSGN.Birmingham Age-Herald, August 23, 1935. Though no Sun Ra recordings are known from this era, the reference here to "His Famous Recording Orchestra" is notable.

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The_Birmingham_News_Thu__Apr_27__1939_.jpg
Newspaper advertisement for the Alabama Theater,Birmingham News, April 27, 1929. The advertised screening ofYes, My Darling Daughter("1939's Most Daring Heart-to-Heart Story of Young Love ... Positively NOT RECOMMENDED For Children!") is accompanied…

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The_Birmingham_News_Wed__Oct_4__1939_.jpg
Newspaper advertisement for the Rhythm Four, the popular Birmingham quartet led by Sonny Blount (the future Sun Ra).

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The_Birmingham_News_Sun__Oct_22__1939_.jpg
Newspaper advertisements promoting appearances by the Rhythm Four at Birmingham's Lyric Theater, October 1939 - December 1940. The popular Birmingham quartet, directed by Sonny Blount (the future Sun Ra), appeared in vaudeville packages alongside…

The_Birmingham_News_Sun__Sep_15__1940_.jpg
Newspaper advertisements for the Rhythm Four and other groups performing at the Pizitz department store's open house, 1940-1941.For National Retail Demonstration Week, the Pizitz hosted an open house, inviting the public to view their latest…

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Fig 20.1.tiff
Newspaper photo, with caption, featuring the Ripple Rhythm Four, a popular quartet directed by Sonny Blount (the future Sun Ra, seen here second from left). Originally the Rhythm Four, the group's name here reflects a sponsorship by the Ripple…

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The_Weekly_Review_Fri__Oct_25__1940_.jpg
WRITE FULL CAPTION

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The_Birmingham_News_Thu__Oct_17__1940_.jpg
COMPLETE FULL CAPTIONNewspaper advertisement for "B'ham's Favorite Quartet," the Rhythm Four on radio station WSGN,Birmingham News, October 17, 1940.The Rhythm Four, directed by Sonny Blount (the future Sun Ra), was popular among both Black and white…

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The_Weekly_Review_Fri__Dec_20__1940_.jpg
FINISH FULL CAPTION: SOLOVOXNewspaper advertisement for a Christmas dance featuring the Rhythm Four, "With SONNY BLOUNT and His Electric Solovox" and "Guest Artist Mis VIVIAN BREWSTER" of Cleveland, Ohio.

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