The Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball

When I answered my phone, Suzanne Coston asked, “Are you available,” which is Tvspeak for you’ve got a job offer. I said “Who is it for?” She answered, “The Commander in Chief.”  “The Commander in Chief of what?” She sort of laughed and said, “The United States.” 

After about two seconds considering a big money job I was setting aside, I said, “When do we go?”  The reply: “Tomorrow—a week out.”

Blissfully excited, we had no idea what the next week would bring us.  We soon decided we’d lost our minds, but in the name of being part of history and in the name of Barack Obama, here we were, trying to translate what WHCA, PIC, AFIDS and all the other designations meant as we set course to produce the Commander-in-Chief’s Inaugural Ball, one of the ten official balls that was exclusively dedicated to the Armed Services, for live broadcast over The Pentagon Channel to all ships, barracks, hospitals and military installations around the world.

We had no production office, no production staff and only two acts set when we walked in the door. We knew other people in town and were able to borrow Ted Sroka from the MTV Ball for a quick run at script supervising. We got offers of other people, but being credentialed for one event doesn’t get you access to others without that mysterious something called the Underlay, which we learned was akin to the Holy Grail.

In hotel lobbies and banquet rooms, on dinner tables and couches with cell phones sometimes at both ears, we patchworked the event.  We called everybody in town who might be available to perform.  After we pulled them, we had to hope to get them through the Secret Service portal to be able to be allowed in the room. Meanwhile, since we had only one stage we had to figure out how to run them off and on and, by the way, do it live with no break-aways to the Pentagon Channel for commercials, since there is no such thing.

My head was spinning with the Presidential Inaugural Committee, all five divisions of the Military, the Secret Service, the Senior Enlisted guys who were co-hosting the event, big dogs from the Pentagon Channel (our favorite Lt. Colonel Melinda Morgan), and the various ranking people from Public Affairs–Major Andra Higgs, LtCommander Charles Summers and Tom Menegrin, who directed the show from a truck a football field away. Lt. Commander Brenda Steele and Lt. Karen Love hung in there with us. Hoorahs, Aye Ayes and Who-ah to Colonel Hiram Bell and all the other brass.

We squeezed somewhere to watch Sunday’s HBO event on the Lincoln steps. Tears came when 89-year-old Pete Seeger, sang  “This Land Is Your Land.” Half-a-million people there got to hear this old song we all sang in the ‘60s when protest was part of the air we breathed. “In the squares of the city,” Woody Guthrie wrote, “by the shadow of the steeple, by the relief office–I saw my people.”  Every day of the week, we did see our people–all social and economic strata, with their faces full of happiness, glowing with triumph.

On Inaugural Day, I walked out of our hotel, The Liaison, just about a block away from the Capitol and looked West. It was 4 am yet there was already an incomprehensible mass of peaceful citizens, gently trying to move forward, just wanting to be there when he Actually, Swear to God, Unthinkably, Gloriously became the 44^th President of the United States. Two-million people standing for eight hours and not one arrest, just tears, hugs and cheers.

Executive producer Suzanne de Passe, who committed us to the project under her newly formed iDream Productions banner, used her considerable personal clout and got George Lopez to host, Smokey Robinson to perform and Chris Tucker to do some stand-up during the ball. Coston had to wrangle Josh Groban, Jordin Sparks and Jon Bon Jovi. I had to figure out how to make their introductions relate to the crowd. Did you know that Bon Jovi is the son of two Marines? See what I mean?  We were given “the world’s greatest ‘70s tribute band named Right On. It was hysterical to see these guys in four-inch platforms and lots of gold glitter up there jammin’ away, but the crowd loved them.

At the ball of some 2,000 were more than 300 wounded warriors from Walter Reed Hospital. One young man sat in his dress uniform, medals pinned to his chest with no legs, one arm and a smile that couldn’t be extinguished. I could barely breathe standing next to him and walked to the teleprompter unable to read the screen for the tears, but  we were here to put on the best show for these young fighters and the families of the fallen heroes who had died in service.

 The President spent more than 15 minutes at this ball. W-a-a-ay more than any others. He joked with soldiers live from Afghanistan. He thanked all the troops  in the room. They were young and enthusiastic and cheered like crazy at their very first opportunity to salute their new Commander In Chief.

Luckily the beautiful old building we were in had a fountain right in front of our stage and we were able to cover it with the Presidential seal—a glorious backdrop for when Obama danced with his First Lady and then as they each danced with a member of the active military. Watching him up close, listening oh-so-carefully, it’s clear to me he is the President of Dr. King’s Dream and will make us all proud to be Americans again.

Change is Now: Renewing America’s Promise

Music and the President

Let’s face it, our young, brilliant new President makes history every time he steps out or speaks out.  For real, there was a history collision goin’ on in D.C. during Inauguration Week. No other American President has listened to his i-Pod or had a day-to-day “Music Guide” to his Inauguration. No other American President has had a grass roots movement or such a size-boggling Internet presence for his campaign. Social networking sites fueled the grass roots movement. There were new videos up on YouTube all the time from anybody with an idea. A recent survey says will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” video has been seen almost 30 million times online. Almost daily from one name artist after another, there were email chain letters telling us why we had to get involved in the process of making Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. Then there was the first of its kind ever — an Official Presidential CD-DVD inauguration collector’s item from Hidden Beach Recordings, in collaboration with the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC).

When the Inauguration was about to happen, D.C. turned into the center of the world for a shining, breathtaking time.  It was cold and it was crowded beyond anyone’s imagination—look at the photographs from space of the Swearing In.  The captured shots from a zillion miles away gave us scope and breath but it was only up close, snuggled up against loving strangers that those in the crowd and at home felt the true humanity of the day—impossible to describe, although thousands of talking heads in hundreds of languages were describing it for their listeners and viewers back home.

In D.C., people were both crying and smiling at being part of history, grabbing up souvenirs of the event to someday show their grandchildren. Among the tickets, banners, flags, stickers and tee shirts, there was this official Presidential Inauguration Collection Commemorative CD-DVD, Change is Now– Renewing America’s Promise.  It was available for purchase at some stores around D.C. as well as on-line, at the PIC and some lucky celebrants got it as take-aways from the high-end parties.  In short, Hidden Beach was all over Washington, D.C.

 

Probably never before in modern history has a political campaign inspired so many artists to create art in the reflection of the themes, hopes, aspirations and ideals embodied in the movement that was created in its wake. This first of its kind album inspired by a presidential campaign and its supporters’ quest for a more perfect union contains performances by some of the most talented recording artists alive today expressing themselves through instruments and voice. 

 The eighteen artists on this album truly represent how our differences can come together to celebrate our common purpose.  We are grateful for their creativity and their musical contributions.”—Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC)

 

And there was no more appropriate home for this project than Hidden Beach. The Santa Monica-based boutique label from its inception had its own audacity of hope and its own “yes we can” state of mind. They followed the road less traveled from the ones populated by the behemoth record labels. There are many parallels in what HB was trying to do and the ambitions and hopes of the young Illinois Senator claiming Chicago as his homebase.  In fact, it could be something in the water in Chicago.  Obama and HB’s Steve McKeever are fast friends from back in the day when they were dreaming of making the world better through community activism, Harvard Law School and music that made a difference.

             McKeever admits this project “might be the hardest thing” he’s ever done. But early on there was a mandate to struggle through the Herculean task of being able to get all the ducks in a row with clearances, schedules, legalities and other impossibilities. Clearly many people of good purpose needed to do something.

McKeever spins the years backwards to recall, “The early believers tried to figure out a way to make the Obama dream a reality and that included music makers of all kinds, with new songs and old songs that mysteriously seemed to speak of hope and promise.” People on the campaign trail were forever having CDs and song lyrics thrust into their hands.  In the first set released, Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement (inspired by Barack Obama and His Movement for Change), McKeever talks of trying to put a collection together years earlier after receiving a call from Hans Reimer, then a youth field rep for the Obama campaign who wanted to brainstorm about marshalling the burgeoning grassroots movement which was beginning to express itself musically. But the obstacles and legalities seemed “insurmountable” so they decided to keep in touch and speak again if a brainstorm solved some of the inherent problems in such a project.

 Finally, there was the first CD, no doubt a baptism by fire for the package to come. Right above its track listing are these words: 

“Probably never before in modern history has a political campaign inspired so many artists to create art in the reflection of the themes, hopes, aspirations and ideals embodied in the movement that was created in its wake. This first of its kind album inspired by a presidential campaign and its supporters’ quest for a more perfect union contains performances by some of the most talented recording artists alive today expressing themselves through instruments and voice.”   

The first part of the mission was underway big time.

            McKeever, with emotion in his voice, recounts his own struggle and the battle of his “Team Mission Impossible” to deliver the CD, what they wanted to do and the timeframe of having it ready for the Inauguration.  Just sorting through the thousands of submitted tapes and the thought process of what songs would actually make it onto the CD was hard to wrap their heads around. Then came the actual recording process.  “It was unbelievable trying to get everything finished on time. We had artists in every studio, flying in and out on such crazy schedules that I actually took a nap on the bare carpet in places.”

 The list of credits and accolades is long. McKeever cites his long time associate and invaluable project manager Bruce Walker whose name kicks off a roster that reveals double duty for Walker and many such as Meaghan Burdick and Kim Alfred for PIC and the Change Is Now Squad; Ron Gillyard for half a dozen credits in the A&R and Talent categories. Right there too is Bonnie Greenberg and PamRobinson who show up in the Art Squad and Talent divisions. Erik Steigen is listed as Precinct Captain and in Talent.  Dale Voelker was big in the Art and Design credits. On a somber note, listed in a different color from all the other names is the Project Angel: Jheryl Busby (May 5, 1949-November 4, 2008). Candace Bond McKeever is on the Change Is Now Squad and there’s a note that Berry Gordy provided Special Inspiration and Advice. There are also about 300 thank yous and then the big one–Special Thanks to Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Jill Biden.

            The artists included on this official inauguration collection are enough to give you hope and let you know that HB believes in inclusion. This is a once in a lifetime, instantly collectible package. Did you ever think you’d see a compilation featuring both Jennifer Hudson and Death Cab for Cutie or Ozomatli and James Taylor?

            Was the Senator involved from the beginning?  No, McKeever quickly says, “I’m not sure at what point he even knew about it.”  Tracing any given point might be difficult, but what McKeever does know is that it’s never been done before. But the people involved with President Obama, back when he was still just Barry, seemed to be instilled with an elixir of daring dreams.  I remember McKeever calling me to come to a fundraiser at least five years ago. He was in it early and was rooted in his knowledge that this man was going to be President. 

“Just listen to him, Ruth,” he said. 

Ok, now it’s your turn. Listen to him here. There are nine iconic speeches starting with the campaign announcement for President in Springfield, Illinois on February 10, 2007. Next is the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Des Moines on November 10, 2007. Thenthere’s the Iowa Caucus Victory Speech on January 3, 2008. In New Hampshire on January 8, he delivered his Primary Speech.  Next is the speech most often called the “Race Speech” given in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, actually entitled “A More Perfect Union.”  And who thought a man who wasn’t even the nominee yet could draw hundreds of thousands to Berlin on July 24, 2008 for his “A World That Stands As One speech?”

Brilliant, brilliant strategy. 

The last two are “The American Promise” delivered in Denver, Colorado on August 28, which was chilling in its power, and lastly is the Election Night Victory Speech in Chicago. Listening to him again brings back the memory of a weeping Oprah, the sea of faces and the sobbing of those who could only gasp, “I never thought I’d live to see this day.”

            The speeches time out at three hours, but watching evokes so many personal emotions, the time hardly seems that long.  There are even excerpts from some speeches included in the song selections, such as will.i.am’s “It’s a New Day,” Melissa Etheridge’s “God is in the People,” Maroon 5’s 2009 version of “Pure Imagination” and a bonus track by Lionel Richie called “Eternity.”

Many of the 18 songs on the CD-DVD are newly recorded. Highlights include Stevie Wonder’s “All About the Love Again,”  BeBe Winans’ “Born for This” and Death Cab for Cutie’s “Grapevine Fires.”

            PIC made the comment, “The eighteen artists on this album truly represent how our differences can come together to celebrate our common purpose.  We are grateful for their creativity and their musical contributions.”

            This Obama victory has been music to the ears of countless millions. This special collector’s CD and DVD provide the opportunity to savor again and again the Change that Has Come to America.

Let Freedom Sing

The song “Strange Fruit” evokes imagery as ominous as any song ever written. Since her soul sang it so bitterly and true, most people think the great Lady Day wrote it. She didn’t. It began as a poem written by a Jewish English teacher in the Bronx who later put his own music to it.  But what Billie did do is infuse so much of herself and her life’s pain into performing the song, it achieved what Abel Meeropol wanted in the first place: becoming a focal point for the anti-lynching movement in the ‘40s. After she persuaded Commodores Records to release it, it became her best-selling record. “Strange Fruit” then inspired performers for all the generations to follow. This song somehow crystallizes the intent of Time Life in its new 3-CD set released for Black History Month 2009, entitled Let Freedom Sing-The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.

Time Life’s Senior VP of Audio & Video Retail, Mike Jason, executive producer of the 58-song set, says “We thought this was the most compelling story in the last 100 years. The idea was to show the evolution of this story with songs that reflect how the situations inspired the music and the music drove the movement.”

Jason added that it took three years from inception to completion.

“We understood the importance of bringing the story to life and taking the time to get it right,” said  Michael Mitchell, Time Life’s VP of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships.

Relying on the socially conscious artist Chuck D to introduce the set was an inspired choice, making the set instantly contemporary and meaningful to some who might view the Civil Rights Movement as something from back in the day. Chuck stresses how these blues, gospel, folk and R&B songs were a constant source of inspiration and pride in the African-American community. “Way before an iPod, these songs rang in my head as they navigated me through my near half a century life,” he declares. “You don’t get a black president overnight.” Included in the set is Chuck’s “The Pride” from 1996, which adds an even more contemporary impact.

The new President “adapted the words of Sam Cooke’s ‘Change Is Gonna Come’ in his acceptance speech,” notes Mitchell, adding, “For centuries, music vividly communicated injustices, especially for African-Americans in the South. This set encapsulates the struggles that eventually allowed African Americans, like me, to rise within our chosen professions, and allowed  Barack Obama to become the 44^th President of the United States.”

The set weaves the familiar with the lesser known and undiscovered. There is a bitter indictment of the treatment of African Americans in the Armed Forces during World War II in “Uncle Sam Says.”  “No Restricted Signs” and “Black, Brown and White” reveal the segregation that greeted returning servicemen.  Here are looks at the tenor of the ‘50s with the bus boycotts, the lynching of Emmett Till, the enforced integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the lunch counter sit-ins.

Nat King Cole recorded the song “We Are Americans Too” just one month after some white supremacists assaulted him on stage during a concert in April 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama. He never performed another concert in the South. Because Cole’s repertoire consisted almost entirely of love songs, “We Are Americans Too” was a dramatic change of pace, written more than a decade earlier. But Cole’s record label, Capitol, never released “We Are Americans Too,” offering the explanation that ‘there was too much at stake.

The escalating bitterness of the ‘60s is captured in songs like Phil Ochs’ “Too Many Martyrs” and John Lee Hooker’s “The Motor City Is Burning.” The riots following Dr. King’s assassination are there in George Perkins’ “Cryin’ in the Streets.” The Black Power era is reflected in Sly & the Family Stone’s “Stand,” Curtis Mayfield’s “We the People Who Are Darker than Blue,” Lee Dorsey’s “Yes We Can” and Gil Scott Heron’s classic, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”

Some of the songs are well-known: “Respect,” “Change Is Gonna Come,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “We Shall Overcome,” “Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “People Get Ready,” “Get up—Stand Up” and many more.

After so much time and passion invested into making these CDs, Jason was concerned that the set ‘would end up on a shelf somewhere.”  He was excited when the project evolved into a full-length documentary in a deal between Brainstorm Media, Time Life, TV One and MarVista Entertainment.

Hosted by Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., ‘Let Freedom Sing’ begins in the era between the wars when jazz and blues evolved from songs sung by African-Americans in church and in the fields. It features rare footage from the ‘60’s, while tracing the influence of Civil Rights-inspired music around the world and revealing the enduring impact it retains on today’s popular music.

The film includes interviews with musicians, civil rights activists, historians and others including former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young; actress Ruby Dee, influential musicians Pete Seeger, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Carter and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruth Brown, Jerry Butler and Chuck D; and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) co-founder Dr. Bernard Lafayette.

TV One will premiere the documentary during Black History Month. Then PBS will use a version of the documentary during fund-raising time and Time Life will subsequently release the film on DVD. 

A few excerpts from the liner notes illuminate the quality of the set.  Big Bill Broonzy wrote Brownie McGhee’s “Black, Brown and White” singing about what goes on in the employment line: “If you’re white, you alright / If you’re brown, stick around / But if you’re black, oh brother / get back.’ “

In Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam,” noted music historian Colin Escott, who helped produce the compilation along with Bas Hartong and Jason, tells of Simone writing this song in 1963 after hearing about the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Mississippi. “I suddenly realized what it was to be black in America . . . it came as a rush of fury, hatred and determination.” Sample lyric: “Alabama’s gotten me so upset / Tennessee made me lose my rest / And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam.”

Lee Dorsey’s “Yes, We Can.” Long before will.i.am wrote a song based on Obama’s campaign line, Allen Toussaint wrote this idealistic number for Dorsey, who had enjoyed success earlier with Toussaint’s “Working in the Coal Mine.”

George Perkins & the Silver Stars’ “Cryin’ in the Streets, Part 1.” Recorded just months after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in ‘68, this mournful track features some chilling falsetto shrieks that convey the deep desperation and despair of the time.

The set is lovingly crafted, well researched and executed. The packaging evokes memories of the past from the photos of the “Equal-Rights in ’63” campaign button to the “Colored Waiting Room” sign. Chuck D sums it up well in his intro: “There’s a reason why listening to the past 100 years of black music can bring a sense of voice, sound, meaning, joy and pain…as well as a historical time-line.”

Time Life delivers well on the promise of remembering the past while celebrating the present.