Soul! Show 67
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform "There is Sunshine in Our Hearts (We Will Bar Nobody)." Begins as a ballad, segues into spoken word piece, then erupts into midtempo gospel number. Opening credits roll briefly.
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform "How Am I Doing?" Sweet, jazzy midtempo soul-blues song.
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform the Burt Bacharach ballad "Make It Easy on Yourself." Begins with spoken word, segues into deep soul song of love & betrayal. Great performance.
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform dramatic version of the Joan Baez anti-war protest song "Johnny I Hardly Knew You." Opens with nice shot of hands on keys of piano.
Soul! Show 67
(DO NOT USE THIS SEGMENT) Clip from the western "Buck and the Preacher" starring Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte, directed by Sidney Poitier.
Soul! Show 67
Soul producer Ellis Haizlip interviews Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte sitting at round table in Soul studio, audience surrounding them. Soft-spoken Harry Belafonte discusses his reasons for taking the role & wearing the characteristic makeup. Sidney Poitier talks about his first directorial effort, "Buck & the Preacher"-- "We have a commitment not only to entertain people but to say some important things." "We made it as an entertainment w/ a positive statement about black life in the United States & how it came about that the history books excluded us when the west was being recorded. Black people played an important part in the building of the west & we wanted black children to see that." "The west was not won without us."
Soul! Show 67
FOR FULL CLIP WITH AUDIO, PLEASE CONTACT WPA. Ellis Haizlip interviewing Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte. Harry Belafonte says there was no hope for equity for blacks in the South during Reconstruction so they moved west. He discusses roles in "Buck and the Preacher." Belafonte says, "Prior to this period in the black experience there was no opportunity to deal w/ black history b/c there was no thrust from the black community which stated that we demand our own, we demand to be heard & seen w/in the context of our own truth." Sidney Poitier says: "We grew out of Stepin Fetchit & Mantan Moreland. Out of us will come directors & producers who will have infinitely more freedom. This freedom that we have & the freedom that they will have comes from the strength that has been husbanded in the black community & is being felt throughout the land."
Soul! Show 67
Continuation of Ellis Haizlip interviewing Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte. Harry Belafonte says that in addition to misused performers such as Mantan Moreland, the black community also had the likes of Paul Robeson & Langston Hughes. Ellis Haizlip asks the men if they encounter any jealousy from friends who were w/ them before they were famous. Sidney Poitier says that since America is a selfish, competitive materialist society, he has indeed encountered it; "We live in this kind of inequity & it has a bearing on the nature of a relationship." "We are not taught in America to share & as black people we have not had the kind of success that has come to Harry & I on a general level." "There is such a shortage of that kind of success & a plethora of poverty among blacks." "We are not allowed to experience failure & hang onto our dignity b/c we evaluate everything in terms of material." "We seek material wealth to define ourselves."
Soul! Show 67
(DO NOT USE THIS SEGMENT) Clip from "Buck and the Preacher" starring Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and Ruby Dee, directed by Mr. Poitier.
Soul! Show 67
Continuation of Ellis Haizlip interviewing Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte. Sidney Poitier says he & Mr. Belafonte have been friends for 26 years, discusses their working relationship, then thanks, hugs, kisses the cheek of Mr. Belafonte. Mr. Poitier talks about traveling to Zambia & Tanzania to assess the African film industry. Harry Belafonte talks about his African dance company. Ellis Haizlip thanks Mr. Belafonte for introducing Miriam Makeba to the United States. Sidney Poitier talks about his next directorial effort, "A Warm December."
Soul! Show 67
Continuation of Ellis Haizlip interviewing Sidney Poitier & Harry Belafonte. Harry Belafonte says "Although there are many inequities we have used constantly our platform in order to project new people. We have used our power & craft in order to set platforms for other artists to project themselves. Despite the inequities & contradictions within this society it has not deterred us from a black conciousness." "I am physically removed form the community but I am spiritually committed to the community. As long as one black brother or sister anywhere in the world in bondage there is no freedom for me. I may have a material freedom but spiritually I am in the same darkness." Nice CU Sidney Poitier listening intently. Harry Belafonte says there is no such thing as absolute power accompanying financial success: "If you are black in America, you are black in America." Ellis Haizlip concludes interview.
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson and Church of God & Saints in Christ choir (Martha Cherry, Naomi Elkins, John Moore, Nathaniel Nelson, Marilyn Redding), with live band conducted by Phil Moore perform "It Gets Better Further On." Gospel.
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform "Down Here on the Ground."
Soul! Show 67
Novella Nelson & band perform "Step Across That Line." Funky, slinky soul song with fat backbeat. Nice TLS Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte & Ellis Haizlip sitting at round table in audience, watching Novella Nelson & band perform. Trumpet solo.