A00235 - There's Something On Your Mind


As I slowly go through the year 1930, I came upon the bio for Little Sonny Warner

Little Sonny Warner - Wikipedia

and became aware of his only big hit

There's Something on Your Mind - Wikipedia

I listened to the song

Big Jay McNeely - There Is Something On Your Mind (youtube.com)




and found myself drifting back to a time in the late 1950s when a gathering of young African American women and men, people who I knew to be my parents and related relatives, would begin to play such "grown-up" music before telling me to go to bed.

There is something on your mind, indeed.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

Fairfield, California

February 12, 2024

*******************************************************

 Little Sonny Warner (b. October 30, 1930, Falls Church, Virginia – d. April 12, 2007, Falls Church, Virginia) was an American blues singer.


Born Haywood S. Warner, Warner was born on October 30,1930 in Falls Church, Virginia.  In the early 1950s, Warner sang as a backing vocalist for Van Walls on the Atlantic Records releases "After Midnight" and "Open the Door". His career received a boost in 1957, when he filled in for Lloyd Price at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. 


Warner's biggest hit was saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's "There's Something On Your Mind", which became a gold record for Checker Records in 1959. He performed with James Brown, Etta James and B. B. King. In his later years, Warner often performed at concerts and festivals in Falls Church.


Little Sonny Warner died in his hometown of Falls Church, Virginia, on April 12, 2007.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A00245 - Must See TV for the Month of March 2024: PBS: "Dante" and Book of the Year for 2024: Dante's "The Divine Comedy": The Inferno

  By some "divine" coincidence, the following was the quote from the Monday, March 18, 2024, page of "A Year of Zen" calendar; "The mountain of release is such that the      ascent's most painful at the start, below;     the more you rise, the milder it will be. "And when the slope feels gentle to the point that     climbing up sheer rock is effortless      as though you were gliding downstream in a boat, "then you will have arrived where this path ends." Dante ***** I do not know where this Dante quote comes from, but what I do know is that the Monday, March 18, 2024, episode of PBS's "Dante" covered the life of Dante through the year 1306 and covered Dante's Divine Comedy through The Inferno.  The program has been insightful and profound.   I highly recommend that everyone watch the program and ponder on Dante's motivation for writing this monumental work.  Both the watching and the pondering could pr...
Read more

A00143 - Hot off the press: Manhattan Beach apologizes!

Image
I received an email a few moments ago from my Amherst College classmate, Peter Alfvin, who is a resident of Manhattan Beach ... and who has been keeping me informed of the City discussions concerning the return of the Bruce Beach property to my Bruce Family relatives and the compensation paid along with the protracted process of the Bruce Family receiving an apology for what was done to the family one hundred years ago.  Peter's email title says it all and the attached newspaper article says it all.   At long last, the City of Manhattan Beach has apologized to the Bruce Family.  Now, finally, ... maybe ... the reconciliation can begin. Peter, lunch is on me when next I come down your way.  We have much to talk about my friend. Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins  Barcelona, Spain April 5, 2023 88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 Manhattan Beach Off...
Read more

A00244 - Fatima Bernawi, The First Female Palestinian Resistance Organizer

  March is Women's History Month Women's History Month - Wikipedia and on March 11, Ramadan began Ramadan (calendar month) - Wikipedia Ramadan was the time when it was hoped that the Israel-Hamas War would be paused for humanitarian reasons  Israel–Hamas war - Wikipedia but it was not.  In a previous email (see below), I discuss the legacy of the 1948 Deir Yassin Massacre which gave rise to the Nakba. Sadly, the 75th-year anniversary of the Nakba has predictably proven to be woefully tragic. As a student of history, I sense that the result of this latest episode of the Nakba will not bring peace but will produce a generation of young Palestinians who are committed to resist. One example of such historical resistance fighters created by the Nakba was Fatima Bernawi    Fatima Bernawi - Wikipedia I encourage everyone to become aware of her story.  I found it intriguing not just because she was the first Palestinian woman to organize a resistance attack in Isra...
Read more