S3 Ep 2 The Tale of Stackalee: The Live Concert

As a follow up to S3 Ep1, this episode features a concert by Lionel Young, Roy Hightower, and Otis Taylor recorded live directly following the audio drama The Tale of Stackalee. Lionel Young. Mr... Read More

From the show: Destination Freedom Black Radio Days

33 mins

9/5/22

About

As a follow up to S3 Ep1, this episode features a concert by Lionel Young, Roy Hightower, and Otis Taylor recorded live directly following the audio drama The Tale of Stackalee.

Lionel Young

Mr. Young has won numerous awards including The Young Artist Award (Pittsburgh Symphony); The Concerto Contest (Carnegie-Mellon); The Passamenic Award (Branchwood String Quartet); and the award for the Best Blues Band in Westword’s Best of Denver. He’s also won a position with The Denver Chamber Orchestra and premiered a solo piece by William Hill. Lionel has had the honor of working with such show biz luminaries as: Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Paige/Robert Plant, Doc Severenson, Linda Ronstadt, Living Color, Billy Taylor. Otis Taylor, Since 2009’s award-winning Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs, Taylor has released five more celebrated albums and his music has been included in Hollywood and foreign movie soundtracks and television shows including Shooter and Public Enemies. Personal highlights of Taylor’s career were when he was an answer in the New York Times crossword puzzle in 2009, and in 2016 Taylor was proud to be included in the inaugural exhibition of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Roy Hightower

Well-regarded as a blues guitarist and soulful singer around Chicago, Roy Hightower has carved out an equally impressive niche as an actor in various Windy City musical productions. Among his starring roles: portraying Muddy Waters and Otis Redding.

Even in death, the larger-than-life figure of Stagger Lee triumphs. It is unfathomable why the obscure murder of a levee hand in a red-light bar would attain such far-reaching notoriety, while songs about equally sordid killings—fact-based murder ballads such as “Ella Speed” and “Duncan and Brady”—are doomed to relative obscurity. Nonetheless, “Stagger Lee” spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly after the actual killing. It was soon being sung in various forms by workers on the levee, convicts on chain gangs throughout the South, saloon and street singers, and even school children. Soon, the musical, mythical iteration of “Stack Lee” supplanted the man himself, as black America cultivated and nurtured a heroic outlaw to admire.

Follow @nocreditsproductions on Facebook and Instagram, and @donniebetts on Twitter. #Blackradiodays #socialjustice #destinationfreedomblackradiodays #donniebetts

Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Donnie L. Betts: Welcome to Destination Freedom Black Radio Days Podcast, a copyrighted program of No Credits Productions LLC.

[0:07] Donnie L. Betts: Our producer director, Donnie L.

[0:09] Donnie L. Betts: Next on Destination Freedom Black Radio Days, a concert by Lionel Young, Roy Hightower, and Otis Taylor.

[2:48] ♪ Musical number: "Cross His Burn Dead" — performed by Lionel Young ♪

[5:45] ♪ Musical number: "You Don't Have to Go" — performed by Otis Taylor ♪

[7:53] ♪ Musical number: "Looking for My Woman" — performed by Roy Hightower ♪

[10:55] ♪ Musical number ♪

[11:02] ♪ Musical number ♪

[11:52] ♪ Musical number ♪

[12:01] ♪ Musical number ♪

[12:05] ♪ Musical number ♪

[12:07] ♪ Musical number ♪

[12:20] ♪ Musical number ♪

[12:24] Lionel Young: Yeah, this is a good one. This is how it's live on the radio. From Chicago. The song I wrote. It's about people. Sometimes everybody gets struck by a tragedy. And you wake up one day, you find out that you gotta die. It might be AIDS. It might be cancer. But you're gonna suffer. You're gonna die. He woke up one morning. A deep sleep. Woke up this morning. From a deep. A deep sleep. I found out. Look. I found out. I was Jesus. I was Jesus. Don't walk. Be crucified. I don't want thong on my head. Don't wanna walk. Don't want Jesus. I don't want the Jesus.

[15:08] Lionel Young: I can't tell sweet water. I can't break bread and feed a thousand people. I don't want be. Don't won. Won't be. Don't want this man. I don't want. I don't want. I don't want. I don't want. Wanna be everybody got to suffer. Yeah, everybody got suffered sometime. Sometime woke up this morning.

[17:47] Lionel Young: Sleep. A deep sleep. And I found out. I found out. Yeah. I found out. What did you find out? I was Jesus.

[18:34] Lionel Young: When I'm dead and I'm gone. Six feet in the ground. When I'm dead, I'm gone and I'm six feet in the ground. Don't you know my funny bow? Still be bugging down. Still be bugging down. Six feet in the ground. I said, maybe I'll meet you on the air as the wind swirl and row. Maybe I'll meet you on the air.

[21:50] Lionel Young: I'll be with you in the lighting in the wind.

[22:00] Roy Hightower: Been with you before. And I'll be with you again. And now be with you, Pastian. When you walk, walk like you got sense. When you talk, talk like you got sense. When you spend my money, spend my money like you got some sense, girl. Well, I'm a no nonsense man looking for a no nonsense for me. When I holler, you know that's what I like. No nonsense. Man, looking for a no nonsense for me. Got to have me a mate. Somebody got a head on straight.

[22:58] Roy Hightower: When you walk, walk like you got sense. When you talk, talk like you got sense. When you spend my money, spend my money like you got some sense. Looking for me a woman. Somebody got a head on straight. Well, I'm a no nonsense man looking for a no nonsense on the nonsense. No nonsense. Walk like you've got some sense, girl. Well, I'm a no nonsense man. Looking for a no nonsense. You're gonna get on out of here, y'all. That was from the root doctor album. No nonsense. Yes. Yes. Yeah, we got about time for about one more. You can play it out. We'll, you know, we'll go off the air as you plan, but that's gonna be okay. You're listening to the music of let's see if I can get this right this time. Roy Hightower, the root doctor from Chicago. Mr. Lionel Young. And Mr. Otis Taylor.

[28:28] Roy Hightower: Roy Hightower is the root doctor. And Mr. Lionel Young is as the sun goes down. As the sun goes down. I take this time to say I'm playing a banjo. Whether people know it or not, the banjo did not come from Appalachia. It came from Africa.

[29:37] Otis Taylor: Nobody. Nobody sees me. I'm a big black man. But nobody sees me. I don't walk. I done walk for my home. But nobody nobody sees me. I see you son. I got black black skin. I see you, son. Dark dark hair. Brown black eye. But nobody. Nobody sees me. Well, my mama's from Mississippi. My dad is from Tennessee. I got one more. One more. One more. One more mile. I got one more. Mile a walk. One more. One more mile. But nobody. Nobody sees me. Before I hang. Before I hang.

[31:56] Donnie L. Betts: That concludes this episode of Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. My producer director, Danielle Betts. Support for Destination Freedom is provided by the Bonfeet Stanford Foundation, the Ulypians Fund of the Denver Foundation, Arts and Society, and Karen and Johnny Klein. Destination Freedom Black Radio Days is produced by Donnell Betts. The series is remixed by Maurice Smith. Make sure you check us out at NoCredits.com and pick up our podcast wherever you get your podcast. iTunes, Radio Public, Spotify, etc. Follow us at Twitter at Donnie Betts. Hashtag NoCredits Production LLC. Hashtag BlackRadio Days. Thank you for listening.