December 13, 1967 Eric Marlon Bishop (Jamie Foxx), stand-up comedian, actor and singer, was born in Terrell, Texas. Foxx began performing stand-up in 1989 and changed his name to Jamie Foxx, choosing the surname as a tribute to Redd Foxx. In 1991, he joined the cast of the television show “In Living Color” and from […]
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December 12th in African American History – Marie Dionne Warwick
December 12, 1940 Marie Dionne Warwick, singer and activist, was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Warwick began singing gospel as a child and sang her first solo at the age of 6. In 1958, she and other members formed the Gospelaires which in their first performance together won the weekly amateur contest at the […]
December 12th in African American History – Ike Wister Turner
December 12, 2007 Ike Wister Turner, bandleader and record producer, died. Turner was born November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His music career began in the late 1940s when he formed a group called The Kings of Rhythm. In 1951, the band recorded “Rocket 88” which many historians recognize as the first rock and roll […]
December 10th in African American History – Otis Ray Redding, Jr.
December 10, 1967 Otis Ray Redding, Jr., singer and songwriter, died in a plane crash. Redding was born September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia. He grew up in Macon, Georgia where he sang in the church choir and won the local talent show 15 weeks in a row. In 1960, Redding began touring the south […]
December 9th in African American History – James Moody
December 9, 2010 James Moody, jazz saxophonist and flute player, died. Moody was born March 26, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1943 and played in the “Negro band” on a segregated base until he was discharged in 1946. In 1948, he relocated to Europe because he had […]
December 2nd in African American History – Odetta Holmes
December 2, 2008 Odetta Holmes, singer, actress, songwriter, and human rights activist, died. Odetta was born December 31, 1930 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her first professional experience was in musical theater in 1944 and in 1949 she joined the “Finian’s Rainbow” touring company. She began her solo career in 1956 with “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues” […]
December 1st in African American History – Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, III
December 1, 1940 Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, III, comedian, writer and actor, was born in Peoria, Illinois. After his discharge from the Army in 1960, Pryor began working as a professional comic in clubs throughout the Midwest. In 1963, he moved to New York City and began to gain national recognition and appear on […]