I heard a half hour long interview with an expert on Reinhardt (author
of a book? I don't recall) in the last 4 or 5 years on the WNYC-AM
public radio station in New York City. Not an "NPR" program or station,
just a locally independent pubic radio station. The locally-produced
show was "New York & Company" (since renamed "Leonard Lopate Show").
Perhaps the show's staff could direct you to the guest, or even to an
archived recording of the show. I think their old shows are only MP3's
on the site for a short time, perhaps they could help you out though.
He was a professional musician at age eighteen (at which instrument I
forget; not guitar I think) and due to fire injury to two fingers on his
left hand (plus left leg which I guess was permanently impaired also) he
switched to guitar and invented or was at least the leading virtuoso of
swing style guitar in the 40's. I guess the story is he pioneered or at
least led the style so he got to create it in a way that his impairment
encountered no barriers? I haven't seen the recent movie in which Sean
Penn played him. Did people dance to this? It's very energetic and
zippy and bouncy.
--
I was about to post a similar request. With one added category -- any
music relating to, simultaneously -- disability and LGBT people? I know
of a few songs about AIDS, and at least one by a PWA, but don't now of
any relating to LGBT people with other disabilities.
As in the original set of music inquiry questions, the links could be
through any combination of lyric-topics, or authorship, or who performs
it.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
--
I am putting together some interviews in the coming year for a LGBT
radio program and some of these segments will help them fill in the area
of LGBT people who are also PWDs....
On short notice this week for music to separate a segment from the one
preceding it, what I came up with is "Nobody's Hero" by the band "Rush".
From an album maybe 8? years ago "Counterparts". The first half of the
lyrics is about author knowing a gay man, losing touch, and then
learning he died (presumably, young) and in the chorus "cure the wasting
disease" suggests that he died of AIDS. I don't know who the author is
(don't have the original packaging). It is a very beautiful slickly
produced recording, sounding nothing like any other Rush songs I've ever
heard; much better, to my ears. Only one radio station in the NYC area
played it; I found out the record company had taken this song, the
obvious standout on the album, and put it out as the fourth "single"
that stations were urged to play. Putting three far weaker songs before
it, meaning that the stations might never even get to the fourth
"single". Marketing Dept. fear of fans' AIDS-phobia? Homophobia?
Both? Although the song's lyrics are not chiselled in as precise a way
as we do in academic writing, taken a what it is, a pop song, the part
of the song about a PWA's passing (and this was before surviving longer
with AIDS became not uncommon, before protease inhibitors' availability)
seems like a very heartfelt and musically beautiful eulogy.
There is also "The Disabled In Action Singers", who have their second CD
out recently; folk music. I think it's listed somewhere on DIA's web
site www.disabledinaction.org One of their songs has a break in which
the lead singer says "some people have vices, we have devices".
Re: songs at the intersection of disability and LGBT sexual identity or
sexuality..... I am at a bit of a disadvantage in following up
suggestions as someone who cannot afford to buy albums to find these
songs, and who does not have a full computer which can hear MP3 files
either. But if readers of this inquiry can point me to the songs &
sites, I will ask this radio show's most music-oriented person to pursue
your leads. If there are any e-mail addresses for the performers or
their managers, that would be helpful. It's for an all-volunteer
program on a non-profit listener-supported radio station.
Thanks.
Jim
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