13/10/2021
The Summer of Soul took place over a period of six weeks in the hot conditions of that remarkable final summer of the already tumultuous sixties decade. Now the Chicago based LGBTQIA Podcast “Feast of Fun” takes a look back at the music and the changes that were taking place. The podcast editors explain that Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Blinky Williams, Sly and the Family Stone and the Chambers Brothers took place in the “Harlem Cultural Festival” which marked the first anniversary of the assissination of black civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King Junior. But that event is overshadowed by the largely white hippie gathering at the Woodstock Rock Festival that summer. In reality both events showcased the musical melting pot that was American sound in that momentous time, the year that Stonewall took place, that humans walked on the moon and when protest was in the air everywhere. Musician Erthe St. James, who is highly influenced by Nina Simone and the music of this era joins presertners Mark and Fausto to examine the changes that took place and the wonderful music that underpinned it all. The podcast is available now from usual platforms.
