1 10 504 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/98e8e49413e87c166357a871606e454b.png c5eb8de4a11b03221f7617d558698e4e https://thebbrm.org/files/original/30a0b785822fa9ff1266598168c55b4c.mp3 3a80521282e3ca658dfc7cc69289e8f8 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/157a89a82c2848caa355b42ae4ee1cd1.pdf 1cc34a9baf61969966babc3571533a26 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/f4e841e467f5439fbe05c69877c7e964.mp4 ee8cc7a8562cb9531ec4c76835477a07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Lex Gillespie Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Gwendolyn Webb Location The location of the interview Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound audio snippet: Dr. Bevel. He was my mentor, like Dr. King, Dr. King asked him he said, “well, what are we going to do? The only people that are willing to go now are the children, we can’t put the children out there.” And Bevel figured out a way. So what did he do? He came out to the schools. He couldn’t come on the school grounds, so he set up perimeters, away from the school grounds. On the street, and he asked different people “who are the leaders?” If you were a leader of the student government, he wanted you. If you were the leader of the football team, he wanted you. Well see, I just happened to be the leader of my cheerleaders. So being agile, and somewhat loud, he wanted me. And I was so excited about that. The different leaders that he had were those of us that really knew how to lead. Even though the majority of the leaders were the girls. But guess what, the boys, all we had to do was get the girls. The guys they would come, and they did come. But we had to sign pledges. They would give us a pledge. And the pledge was telling us that this was a nonviolent movement. It was a spiritual movement. And people ask me during my presentations today, well, “why do you call it D-Day?” I said D-Day was a day of deliverance. We were going to be delivered from this racism in Birmingham, Alabama Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) audio snippet: 2 minutes full interview: 35 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gwendolyn Webb, Oral History Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gwendolyn Webb Lex Gillespie Description An account of the resource Minister Gwendolyn Cook Webb (b. February 15, 1949) (G) - a lifelong resident of Birmingham, Alabama, “Gwen” graduated from Western Olin High School in 1967 after participating with thousands of other children in the mass marches of 1963 Birmingham during the May demonstrations. Gwen was arrested during that period. In 1975, Gwen joined the Birmingham Police Department as officer and detective and married Billy Webb, a white internal affairs officer in 1979. They stayed married for 23 years until his passing. The joyous and controversial marriage was featured in a “People” magazine article and TV special. In 1980, the couple served as newly elected Mayor Richard Arrington’s personal security detail. Gwen was part of the inaugural class of Leadership Birmingham in 1984 and served on the Jefferson County Judicial Commission from 1984 to 1989. In 2004, she became a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Black Radio Museum and was featured in the Academy Award winning documentary, “Mighty Times - The Children March.” In 2005, she formed “God’s People United for a Better World: and came an ordained minister. She founded Foot Soldiers International in 2012 and received a Certificate in Advanced Biblical Studies from Samford University in 2021. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in 2019. She currently hosts groups of young people from around the world who want to learn about the incredible non-violent movement of the children of Birmingham when they marched for civil and human rights in 1963. She has one daughter, three grand children and three “triplet” great grands. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 9, 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Magnolia Oliphant Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PNG PDF MP4 Language A language of the resource English 16th Street Baptist Church 1960s Children's March Foot Soldiers International Gwendolyn Cook Webb James Bevel Martin Luther King Jr. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) West Olin High School https://thebbrm.org/files/original/23c3ef93e4961035241ce59024be22fa.pdf 7a4d52edb3b5d7b5b6b728e0aa898ab4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faush Collection Finding Aid https://thebbrm.org/files/original/f74e5a640ba094a9f4ddbc673f8addaf.png c6a25d5311ccd31bc48470eb658508a3 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/9a0fe35c2aeeb38085bff45e2d1d0140.mp3 fb713fbef8333905390ebd66bba357c7 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/933303fd770c64a94ef0f5d051c3c4a1.pdf ca9d379e6e7a2d40886d3c93b3cfa222 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Collins 'Bo' Berry Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Two minute snippet: "Bo" Berry: He was the….The teacher I'm talking about was Bonnie Mae Peawine. That's right. Fantastic organ player, one of the greatest organ players in this town, man. Bob Friedman: And you know how she spells her last name? BB: I really don't, but I could get it. BF: Yeah. That's fabulous. What a fabulous story. So here you are in the band room. What happens next? BB: The next room. And I ran up talking, the little lady trying to get stuff done. No, no, he just wanted to talk to me cause, like, I'd being the devil around in So she was just talking to him. We just had a conversation about playin'… he was telling me about, you know, his playin'. See, see, when I came up man, the reason I have such a love for the music, I came up around these people and these people, from a child, I could realize these people were serious about what they were doing, man. BF: Right. BB: And, and Hooper used to talk to me all the time about playin' and where he played. He, you know, he used to go to New York, I mean he was a professional player. BF: He was a trumpet player? BB: I was fortunate enough to have a trumpet player for a teacher. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full Interview: Audio Snippet: 2 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Collins "Bo" Berry, Oral History Description An account of the resource Collins “Bo” Berry, a much loved horn player in the tradition of be bop jazz, “Bo” - as his many fans call him - was born in Homewood’s Rosedale neighborhood “over the mountain” south of Birmingham Alabama, and has played trumpet since childhood. His formative years will sound familiar to those growing up without a lot in the 1950’s, and with loving parents. A veteran of the second generation Birmingham jazz tradition, its roots reaching back to the early 20th Century, Bo’s commitment to believing in himself saw him travel nationally with the renowned Commodores soul group. Here, Bo shares his recollection of those times including memories of the Sand Ridge Country Club and later, Tall Paul’s “Fun Land,” both night spots in the southern Oxmoor hills of Birmingham. Most moving is his storied struggle to come off the RnB road, back to Birmingham and commit to a new genesis, focusing on mastering jazz. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Collins "Bo" Berry Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 2, 2023 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource TRINT, UAB Pamela Sterne King, UAB Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF PNG MP3 Language A language of the resource English 1950s 1960s 1970s Atlantic City Cleveland Smith Collins "Bo" Berry Fun Land Homewood Hooper Abrams Jazz Jazz Clubs Marching Band Miles College Music Education New York City Paul "Tall Paul" White Rosedale High School Sand Ridge Country Club The Commodores WJLD https://thebbrm.org/files/original/b97b9ee198c42922ef0a4cad5a5bfd83.jpg 34fabf61be01a8ce3bd30cca962f1082 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/8f287675f3a30dc5fd35b00fc34542ba.mp3 e3e753f3ba77308761ab14c4a789dfc2 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/f4acd9dd6d3ebe4404e86944ad4eb762.pdf 7d06c42fd274027c388eb083f16635c2 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/72f2c03dec45ac04289cf7175363b5ff.jpg 7ffcc84cd94da9e11d0d8e20fc73d4c2 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/d59d193e66a010c7c1e011e490bc74b5.jpg 1b136edc2394d00f514407c40cefa42e https://thebbrm.org/files/original/745ac66658442949d8f5ee8474257791.jpg 9c8c97612b2994a4a13514cf3af81a01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Steve Murry Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Audio snippet: Steve Murry (SM): We listened to the military radio, and that was pretty cool. Bob Friedman (BF): USO? Not USO, the… SM: It was the… BF: I know it I just can’t think of it. Anyways, this was broadcast out of where? SM: They were in Saigon. They had another station in Da Nang, I believe. BF: Did they play popular music? SM: Yeah, yeah. Good stuff. It was everything, they played everything. BF: Were you curious about that? SM: I was curious about that. I never lost my curiosity for the technical aspect of radio, and after I got back, somehow, I just by chance took the ACT and passed that, then I applied at Loyola University for their business school. I was accepted there, and then during that time I was driving a cab. The yellow cab. I was a lease cab driver. It’s where you make the money. BF: I did it. SM: Yeah. Lease cab driving. Man, I loved it. BF: You get paid every day. SM: Yeah. You get paid every day. You make a nice buck. Every day. BF: I can’t say what I did with that. SM: Oh man. I can’t say either. It’s a lot of stuff… BF: Anyways… SM: Anyways, I used to get a ride that was a- I got a regular ride every day. I’d pick her up at 5 o’clock. It was a little, old, white lady. Gray hair, or white hair, and I’d drop her off in downtown Chicago at this big building. I didn’t know what was in there. We got to be kind of friendly, talking and stuff, and I finally asked her What the heck do you do down here? And she said I’m the night jock at WLUP. Trudy Fisher was her name. The powerhouse rock and roll station in Chicago. BF: WLUP? SM: WLUP the Loop. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full interview: 2 hours, 10 minutes Audio snippet: 2 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Steve Murry, Oral History Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Steve Murry Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 12, 2021 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Donald Arnold Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF MP3 JPG Language A language of the resource English Chicago Huntsville Steve Murry Vietnam War WEUP WLUP https://thebbrm.org/files/original/baaea96d4e81c1b60af42b2f9718cec0.png 48c2f615ab5cd36db4193cfa63113817 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/6992cf19eaafb8946bd0690122c69204.mp3 4c70d50347eeb4244af97a3efdb3e9dc https://thebbrm.org/files/original/93c6abe8db3011dcacf773473b1b0f4a.pdf a5fa982766af32d6598629429eed73f1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Doris Gary Location The location of the interview Guiding Light Church, Birmingham AL Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Doris Gary (DG): So this particular night when the bomb went off everything in the house shattered, the dishes fell out of the cabinet and everything, and everybody rushed out to the church to see what it was. And Bull Connor was the first person that was on the site as if he knew that they were going to bomb the church. And Reverend Shuttlesworth came out of his house with cotton... the bed that he was sleeping in was just cotton was all over him. And somebody in the crowd said, Reverend Shuttlesworth, said.. they trying to kill you. Say... you need to consider leaving Birmingham and Reverend Shuttlesworth stood on the front porch with cotton and in his pajamas and said, if God can deliver me from this, y'all go tell Bull Connor I'm here for the duration. And he was encouraged more to fight for the rights. They tried to kill him, but they couldn't kill him. Bob Friedman (BF): Do you remember that day? DG: I remember. I went out on, I went to the scene to see it. BF: Yeah, and that would have been, it would have been in the 50s, I wonder. We can find that out in the news. (December 25, 1956) DG: Yeah, we can find, yeah, you can find the day that the, that was a dark day in Collegeville because nobody knew the word, they knew that the church had been bombed and that Reverend Shuttlesworth was in the parsonage, but only the people that lived near him knew that he was alright. But he came out, I mean, his bed, he was blown out of his bed. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full Interview: 37:17 minutes Audio Snippet: 2:00 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Doris Gary, Oral History Description An account of the resource Doris Gary (b. 1933) lived across the street from the Bethel Baptist Church and its parsonage in the Collegeville section of Birmingham during the time that Rev, Fred Shuttlesworth was the pastor. She consented to an extended interview with Bob Friedman at her current avocation, working at the Guiding Light Church in East Birmingham Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Doris Gary Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 30, 2023 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Lea McMillian Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English 1950s 1964 Civil Rights Act A. G. Gaston A. G. Gaston Motel Alabama Christian Movement for Civil Rights (ACMCR) Bethel Baptist Church Birmingham Bombing Booker T. Washington Business College Booker Washington Insurance Company Bull Connor Collegeville Doris Gary Martin Luther King Jr. Paul "Tall Paul" White Phillips High School Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth School Integration Segregation Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart Voter Registration https://thebbrm.org/files/original/90d67aff437b165b574d2402292f8c92.jpg 96578a3fb1427ee2ed17decc22179aff https://thebbrm.org/files/original/8ad16b0be0374a641598d503b69845f2.mp3 90583ee98f52e1b303a7a7af33324be4 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/231b805bf0f433b1d12ca3c2ec2c7bff.pdf ff0c34829c8fbf32a27dec097fcd79b3 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/ba613c69d6ccd679dcea5982657ad1c4.jpg c19229171a1e3bb1fde98aeaec18216b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ms. Eloise Gaffney, leading the Birmingham Movement Choir Description An account of the resource <div dir="ltr">To view Ms. Gaffney leading the Birmingham Movement Choir, please click youtube video link:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVuaTlcJkL4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DiVuaTlcJkL4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697842891577000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2kOO07x_wjwrJmv2ZGpWfR">Ms. Eloise Gaffney, leading the Birmingham Movement Choir</a></div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Eloise Gaffney Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Eloise Gaffney: And uhm, let me back up a little bit, about the age of twelve, we organized a... a quartet, you know called women quartet... Bob Friedman: I was waiting for that. EG: We uh, we called ourselves “the youth voices of hope...” We sang a cappella. BF: Of course, and, and... EG: And this had to be maybe... sixty... probably early six- maybe, before the movement. BF: Mhmm. EG: You know... BF: Mhmm. EG: So, we sang, we went around with all of the quartet singers, my uncles sang with the group called “the gospel-” no the um... oh gosh I can’t say it right now, but it was uh, artist McKins- Kinney, Julius Geist, my uncle was Willy Board, um... Robert Jones, those guys “Gospel Spirituals,” that was their name. BF: Mhmm. EG: Uh, a guy named Ben Braxton. Uh, we thought they could sing better than, and they were a cappella too, so I think that influenced us, you know. BF: Do, do, do you remember the Ensley Jubilees? EG: I do remember the Ensley, the Jubilees, and Mr., what’s the guy’s name that used to come over here? Light skinned guy. BF: Um... Nims Gaye? EG: No, not Nims Gaye. BF: Oh, Auguster Maul. EG: Yes... BF: From the “Delta Aires.” EG: I remember them, the “Delta Aires.” BF: Mhmm. EG: I remember, and used to remember when they were on, I’m jumping all over the place... BF: That’s okay. EG: When they were on uh, radio on Sunday mornin.’ BF: Mhmm. EG: And I didn’t, didn’t know what they were saying, but I remember, “ I like to be...” we thought they were saying “I like TV.” BF: (laughs) EG: (laughs) BF: And what were they actually saying? EG: And I remember... BF: What was the actual lyric? EG: “I like to be.” BF: Oh. EG: You know... BF: Okay. EG: We thought they were saying “I like TV.” BF: “I like TV.” (laughs) EG: But I remember that, and uh, my mom, like I said, she was in the Holiness Church, so we weren’t able to listen to... uh anything but gospel music... BF: Mhmm. EG: You know... BF: Mhmm. EG: We would get up on Sunday mornin,’ and oh lord the quartets would come to the radio stations... BF: Mhmm. EG: And that, I guess that was then WENN radio. BF: Yeah, WENN radio. Mhmm. EG: And then we were able, some, to get our little group to go to WENN radio and sing on Sunday mornin’s... BF: Mhmm. EG: Sometimes, so that was, that was uh, that molded me into, really the gospel music. BF: Do, do you remember where WENN was when you went? EG: Oh, 5th Avenue. BF: 5th Avenue North. EG: 5th Avenue... BF: And, and 15th Street. EG: 15th Street, that’s right. BF: Down on the corner. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full audio interview: 56:33 minutes Audio snippet: 2 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Eloise Gaffney, Oral History Subject The topic of the resource Gospel Music Alabama Christian Movement for Civil Rights Description An account of the resource Eloise Gaffney (b.Sept 21, 1948). A marvelous singer and choir director, Eloise Gaffney joined Fred Shuttlesworth's movement - the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in the early 1960's at 14 years of age - and, over time became the Choir Director for what would become "The Movement Choir." As a teen, she became active in both Birmingham and Gadsden organizing for civil rights and was arrested in Gadsden. Bob Friedman met her when she began working at WJLD AM 1400 Birmingham in 2000, as a Traffic Manager, translating the daily commercial logs to the digilink which controlled the breaks when the station was on automation. Eloise never gave up her choir directorships, becoming as well, the Choir Director for the church she was baptized in, Lily Grove Missionary Baptist Church, in the Fountain Heights section of Birmingham. Bob and Eloise discussed early gospel music and early Birmingham radio.<br /><br />To view Ms. Gaffney leading the Birmingham Movement Choir, please click this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVuaTlcJkL4" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title=" Ms. Eloise Gaffney, leading the Birmingham Movement Choir ">link to youtube</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Eloise Gaffney Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 9, 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Daniel Martin Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG PDF MP3 Language A language of the resource English 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing 1960s A. H. Parker High School Alabama Christian Movement for Civil Rights (ACMCR) Ben Alexander Birmingham Carlton Reese Carole Robertson Civil Rights Cynthia Wesley Delta Aires Don Solomon Doris (Lockett) Williams Eloise Gaffney Ensley Jubilee Singers Erskine Faush Fred Shuttlesworth Gadsden Gospel Gwendolyn Sanders Gamble Integration James Bevel James Orange Lily Grove Missionary Baptist Church Martin Luther King Jr. Miles College Paul "Tall Paul" White Phillips High School Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) The Movement Choir The Youth Voices of Hope Voter Registration WEDR WENN Wilkerson Elementary School WJLD Yvonne Turner https://thebbrm.org/files/original/85f20ac3c8fd6ca69a36fc90062ca2b2.jpg cd11e8d217d235f4e38d736a04c44f27 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/a52060c2c73f6a689b58dfa88bd4a948.pdf e6ece8b19058ef368106fd9dd3e03018 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/3fbf4ba56ba3fe6f2db2298aed261ac0.mp3 020bf7bcfd951ad9f5cb5d293cfbb2ec https://thebbrm.org/files/original/8e4a9d626d2c279089f52c6ed2360262.mp3 e84c3d05ee9d660a84e66acbbf4e3997 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Morning Talk", Early days of WJLD 1400 AM Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 20, 1997 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP3 Language A language of the resource English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Gary Richardson Location The location of the interview Alabama Historical Radio Society (AHRS) in Birmingham Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full Oral History: 3 Hrs. 22 Sec Snippet: 2 minutes Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Transcription (Gary Talks Station Ownership, Second from Right) Gary Richardson: I later bought 1220 WAYE... another station I was fired from, ‘cause Black Pope, when he brought me over to WBUL 1220 - (preceded WAYE), I was running my mouth in the studio to a guy - he had worked with, Pope... down he said when you think about his music? I said all this payola music music in here, are you kidding? it was junk, I said, but it was a job. I said all this payola music in there and Pope came in there on a Wednesday and brought me my check. I said payday's early. He said yeah, for you ‘cause it's your last day. He fired me. “Gary, your mouth will get you in trouble.” That's what he told me. But anyway, Pope ended up working for me ‘cause he was later fired. So both of the gentleman who fired me actually ended up working for me. BF: Yup GR: Al Bell worked for me. And Black Pope ended up workin' for me. (Audience members laugh) GR: And so anyway, we bought WAYE from Bishop Willis. Willis, he had died and his attorney was handling his estate. So I call it... the lawyer and went up. We paid for that station $225,000. For WAYE 1220 and I had it about two years and I sold it to Rivero Communications, Hispanic group. And we sold it to them for $550k (Five Hundred Fifty Thousand). And we also swapped out a station that Rivero owned. They owned a 12,000 watt AM station, 1360 WIXI. We had just a couple years later, had gotten an upgrade, and an engineer owned it named David Snavely... owned it, got it to be upgraded from 1000 watt, 1360 daytimer to a 12,000 watt daytimer. But it was in Jasper, there was no Mexicans down there. So they had this big ole station. So anyway, to convince me they really wanted Birmingham because they were leasing 1450 AM out of Bessemer. And the owner of the company wanted the station back They needed a Birmingham based station so they came after me, made me an offer I couldn't refuse, double what I paid for it, then got another radio station in the swap. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gary Richardson, Oral History Description An account of the resource Gary Richardson (b. Feb 18, 1957) Born to a coal mining family in Praco, Alabama, Gary spent some early years with childhood friends rummaging through junk yards, experimenting with discarded electrical components and such, and evolved into owning WJLD Radio and hosting the longest running talk show in Birmingham radio history, (1989 - ) the Gary Richardson Morning Show, Mon-Fri from 6-8AM on WJLD 1400 AM in Birmingham, Alabama, with simulcasts on WIXI 1360 AM Jasper and 94.1 FM Birmingham. The four term mayor of Midfield, Alabama and Director of Technology Services for the Bessemer, Alabama school system, Gary took time for the following interview, one which should appeal to radio aficionados, tech heads and the like, as well as how one man with a love for the field weathered many storms. Bob Friedman, his long-time employee and friend successfully coaxed him to the office of the Alabama Historical Radio Society (AHRS) in Birmingham for this presentation. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Richardson Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 29, 2015 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kyley Thompson Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF PNG MP3 Language A language of the resource English 1970s 1980s 1990s AM Bankruptcy Bessemer Bessemer High School Birmingham Clear Channel Earl Hilliard Eric Grayson FCC FM Fred Rossnagel Gary Richardson Ham Radio Johnson Broadcasting Company Lawsuits Midfield Paul "Tall Paul" White Politics Prattville Ron January Roy Wood Satellite Broadcasting Shelley "Black Pope" Pope Teaching TV WAYE WBUL WDJC WIXI WJLD WZZK https://thebbrm.org/files/original/da2b4cc2eb20b3e3f76ddf83f294ff37.jpg a83c04fad83d45ff44eb59d1be7cbfec https://thebbrm.org/files/original/4dfb4cf3da884f8491d69662685db61b.mp3 b979d67d21f0eff8b6664c578e366b7e https://thebbrm.org/files/original/0b80d4effd9e3f14323eabe3abb913f3.pdf c3044483399973d0c6549c681f514efd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Ed Boutwell Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Transcription of audio snippet: Bob Friedman: (laughs) Now you, did you told a story earlier about when Bull Connor was trying to whip up his support and went on radio to do a radio program and you recorded it and tell us a little bit that. Ed Boutwell: Okay. It was a one hour program he had bought WAPI radio, and WSGN and WBRC were rebroadcasting it a long with it. It was all simulcasted. BF: Mhm EB: On those three stations. He blitzed Birmingham and in it, he cursed and acted like the very unfriendly person he was. And BF: He called out the "N" word and the "J" word and he called and EB: He used every bad, bad word he could have used. BF: And what was the message? EB: And the message was, you can't elect, Albert is a friend of the Jews and the Niggers and blah, blah, blah. Well that just affronted me somethin' terrible. And I was already workin' with Albert tryin' to make the transition to... BF: Who made the change? Was that the courts? Was it simply the referendum made the change? EB: The referendum. BF: Mhm EB: I believe. BF: Mhm EB: And the, but Bull was, ran against Albert for major. And Albert beat 'em handily. And BF: So, was after the change of the form of government that then there was a race for mayor, right? EB: Right, Albert ran against Bull...and Albert beat him handily BF: Was it scary that race? Was there, were there threats? EB: I got shot at. (laughs) BF: That's a little bit about that EB: In my little car. BF: Yeah EB: I had this little bitty Morris Minor. BF: You had a Morris Minor! EB: I loved that car BF: One of the guys I sang with had a Morris Minor. I was the one who would drive it. EB: Oh that was a great car! BF: (laughs) EB: I think 40 watts of power. (laughs) BF: And it was such a tiny little thing. EB: And, one day, one evening, I was down town and a car pulled up beside me and a guy stuck a gun out goin' out the back window of his car. I don't remember. I just remember what it looked like at the time. BF: Yeah EB: And I just floor boarded that little Morris and took off. And they were chasin'...and I got over to BF: Where was, yeah. EB: There was a White Temple.... was that the name of a restaurant downtown? BF: Golden Temple? EB: No. This was downtown Birmingham BF: Yeah EB: On North side. Over in the area where Frank Trexill business was. The ticket printing business over there. Anyway, I knew what I could do and I ran over to the, I think it was called The White Temple Restaurant and I ran up into their parking lot and waited for that car to come and he saw me and ran after me. He came over after me and shooting. BF: Shooting EB: Shooting. And I remember two gun shots and I ran out the alley. Our car was very narrow. Their car was very big and bad (laughs). They couldn't chase me. And I went runnin' out that and went, I believe, I don't know where I lived at the time, but I hid. BF: Yeah EB: Think I lived over on Cobb Lane. BF: Yeah EB: So, anyway. That was, that was quite thrill. BF: And you were identified at that point. EB: Yeah. And I was a term red, and uh... BF: So, you got wind about this show that Bull Connor was gonna do. EB: Yes, so I went home. BF: Does this happen after they shot at ya? EB: Good luck with sequence BF: Yeah. Right EB: 'Round, yeah. Around the same time. And they shot at me and I just freaked out. BF: Yeah EB: When I had already figured out how to get away from 'em. I drove out through that little narrow alley. It was an alley built for a wagon. BF: Sure EB: Ya know. Horse and buggy. And I went out through it zoom! And, sorry about that, ashtray and can I ran over. BF: (laughs) EB: But, anyway. I went out and they couldn't get out and they had to stop and back up and come out and drive around and look for me. BF: Yeah EB: I was long gone BF: Yeah EB: So, that was a big thrill. BF: Yeah. So here comes Bull on WAPI. What is EB: And I recorded it and I took that thirty minutes or an hour long program BF: Let me ask you a question. How did you record Bull off of your radio? Did you attach EB: Put clip lead s across the speaker BF: Okay EB: And I picked it up at WAPI FM because I knew that was clean BF: Yeah EB: No compression and it was very, very clean BF: Right EB: Anyway, I took that tape. It was about an hour long, and I called Tommy Little who was heading PR for Uncle Albert. So this was all right in the middle of when Albert was runnin' BF: Yeah EB: And Tommy says, "Can ya edit it together?" (laughs). And he came over in about an hour and I was already editing on it in the studio. By then I had built Boutwell Studios in English Village and I edited that thing together with all those curse words and all that BF: At 30 second? 60 second? EB: I believe it was at least a 60 but I maybe wrong. But anyway, it was enough of blasphemy and hatred and just it galled me terrible, but I put it together. And there was just one curse word after another and Bull's voice. I mean you couldn't deny Bull's voice. There he was. And I had him put on the front of it. This is Bull Connor. And it ran for a minute and I made copies. We ran it everywhere we could around Birmingham. BF: What was the disclaimer at the end? EB: Paid for by friends of Albert Boutwell BF: And were you able to get that on the air? EB: I was sittin' there at WAPI's office the next mornin' with the tape and said, "Can you play this?" They said, "Yeah. We have to play it." It's equal, ya know, the equal time thing..I said, "Play this so many, any spots ya got and call me about the cost. I'll pay it BF: Mhm EB: And that went on to BRC and they didn't like it but they played it. Then I went to SGN and then McKinnon said, "Give me that thing!" And he played it and It ran for about three or four days before the election. And it made a difference, I believe in it, because it stirred everybody's conscious in town. BF: Extraordinary EB: It was very good. So, I was right in the middle of wonderful things. BF: Mhm EB: And I'm still at 82 almost, I'm still in the middle of wonderful things. BF: You don't look a day over EB: 79 BF: 79 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full interview: 68 minutes Audio snippet: 6 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ed Boutwell, Oral History Description An account of the resource Ed Boutwell (b. June 21, 1937, d. January 25, 2023) founder of Boutwell Recording Studios in Birmingham, Alabama. Nephew of Albert Boutwell who was mayor of Birmingham from 1963 to 1967, Ed recounts numerous memories of growing up on Birmingham's southside and his initiation to the politics of the times as well as his illustrious career as both a radio man at WAPI and as owner of Boutwell Recording Studios. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ed Boutwell Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 13, 2019 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Mark Usry Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF JPG MP3 Language A language of the resource English 16th Street Baptist Church 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing 1960s Advertising Albert Boutwell Birmingham Boutwell Studios Children's March Civil Rights Ed Boutwell English Village Eugene "Bull" Connor George Seibels Marches Paul "Tall Paul" White Politics Richard Arrington Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart Shootings WAPI https://thebbrm.org/files/original/203ecf24d506d7846c296f58bf0ca1fc.jpg 5cd0d8caa3314f4457ab72a8acc55aab Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Heavenly Four, 1945 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/05595c36c4b849c896baa68cb02c648b.jpg f255d96fa3e36d08337f7e18c5f2b52b https://thebbrm.org/files/original/3a2154dc2c38b0a375ee9c742a7429ef.mp3 4cf2f59cfcb503f30daeb7bb089a5b5e https://thebbrm.org/files/original/a8f173a4a5d4a55bbe3bbec2f39435ad.mp3 b98beeb3c00153483c5ef5c6c9ad0d19 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/7b0ce2bcf1dfad07700dba8b301871bb.pdf 7b52777b9e0c2cb2681bf7a89de897b0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Don Solomon Norman B. Wooding Jr. Location The location of the interview Forestdale, Alabama Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Transcript of Audio snippet 01: BF: So you said you ran into Don at – NW: Manhattan Cleaners. BF: At Manhattan Cleaners. What – how’d that happen? DS: All the groups were meeting then, and Leroy was making records. BF: Demo records and things? DS: And that’s where Blue Goose came from. BF: Where was the studio? In the basement? DS: Down under the house. NW: Right, right. DS: That’s what Leroy did. See Leroy became an engineer for WVOK. He brought the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church on every Sunday, twelve o’clock. And brought the Heavenly Four on every Sunday morning at seven. BF: So, you guys were the first group to sing on WVOK. DS: On WVOK. So when Leroy got to know Ms. Lady(?) and all about that station he became – Leroy would be sitting back behind me in that building engineering the program for Sixth Avenue Baptist Church every Sunday. He was already engineering our program, and any other..and that’s how he began engineering all the quartets. See, we were first, and the Four Eagles were the second group to sing on WVOK after us. BF: Who was in the Four Eagles back then, do you remember? NW: John Watson… DS: Yeah. NW: John Watson and Will Freeman and – DS: And that baritone singer. NW: Perry. Perry… I think Perry Gibbons. I think Perry Gibbons was the baritone then and George Watson, John's brother, was a tenor for them. What's Watson. Joe wasn’t with them then. DS: Joe... he was a baritone singer. NW: There was two groups... John was... DS: a bass singer with a bald head. NW: Yeah, right. He was with the Four Eagles, and John was with the Four Blue Eagles. There were two groups back then. John was with the Four Blue Eagles. BF: The Four Blue Eagles? Why did they name themselves the Four Blue Eagles? NW: They were two different groups, yeah. Brothers and sisters. Brothers and – Four Blue Eagles yeah. And all the fee was, Bob, to come in the church was ten cents and you couldn’t get standing room. Transcript of Audio snippet 02: BF: Now, your dad… your dad’s group, Norman – the MacMillians – were taught by one of them. NW: Charlie Bridges came to our house and taught dad an'em .. and Jimmy Ricks. BF: Charlie Bridges. Came to the house that you live in now? NW: In the home now. BF: Yeah, the home house... NW: Taught them, at different times they taught. Jimmy Ricks. Jimmy Ricks told us Eismann taught him how to sing bass. BF: Taught who? NW: Eismann (sp?) BF: Eismann? Jimmy Ricks was a teacher who was also a bass? NW: Uh-huh. Jimmy Ricks, yeah. DS: He eventually sung bass for the Blue Jays. BF: For the Blue Jays. Not to be confused with Jimmy Rick of the Ravens. NW: Lock Key (possibly meaning Leo "Lot" Key, of the early Birmingham Jubilee Singers - referenced in Doug Seroff's "To do this you must know How" P. 135) one of the tenorist man in the South in the country ...Lot Key, with them Blue Jays. He could sing some tenor...Willie James sung baritione. DS: Every now and then, a guy like Charles (Silas?) Steel. (or Charles Beal?) NW: Charlie Steele, coming with the Blue Jays, yeah. BF: Those guys ended up singing? So both Jimmy Ricks and Charlie Bridges ended up singing with groups. DS: With Blue Jays. NW: No they didn’t. They didn’t sing with the Blue Jays. BF: They didn’t? No. DS: I mean Ricks sung bass for the Blue Jays. Bridges sung baritone or lead. BF: The Birmingham Jubilees? NW: I thought Porterfield sung bass for the Blue Jays. Porterfield or Poindexter, one of'em. He was a slim, tall, dark guy. DS: When I was a little boy coming up, I can remember a program at Bethel Church. Tommy is the tenor singer. NW: Tommy Walton. DS: of the Ensley Jubilees DS: And Marshall (Marshall Johnson), the baritone, eventually of the Ensley Jubilees. I remember their faces at my – all of the Williams brothers at my church (Nar, Rufus) . Brown suits and white carnations. Up in there...I remember that. I remember that. NW: Yeah.. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Full Interview: 54 minutes Audio Snippet 01: 2 minutes Audio Snippet 02: 2 minutes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Don Solomon and Norman B. Wooding Jr., Oral History Description An account of the resource Don Solomon and Norman B Wooding, Jr, two pioneer Jefferson County gospel singers and, most recently, members of the Pillars of Birmingham, reminisce on the days of quartet concerts in Birmingham, including group members. The conversation took place at Don Solomon's Forestdale, Alabama home after a Pillars practice. Both men have separate oral histories in the BBRM as well. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 13, 2013 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Emily L. Reynolds Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Don Solomon Norman B. Wooding Jr. Bob Friedman 1940s A. G. Gaston Bessemer Don Solomon Ensley Jubilee Singers Eugene "Bull" Connor Gospel Kelley Choral Singers Music Norman B. Wooding Jr. Pillars of Birmingham The Heavenly Four WEDR WJLD WVOK https://thebbrm.org/files/original/9c1c023868fa775be51ec10135a2d28c.jpg f658ed7788485ceadbe18e29175312dc https://thebbrm.org/files/original/c676279c6886171c3ec843a1ab6f647f.mp3 3941003ed6b88d234b731e3e794401ec https://thebbrm.org/files/original/d5c46973eddd91b706fc9562081b2247.pdf e9c18512ea9217e5a1df9fe769de5341 https://thebbrm.org/files/original/7191b135980508733ff7da92bc845c7d.mp3 984d32587afa1c1868a4f49bf0949a67 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 2, 2001 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource <p>A collection of sound files, transcribed oral interviews, and images documenting Black radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Please click the link below.<b></b></p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Friedman Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights held by The Birmingham Black Radio Museum unless otherwise specified. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .jpg .mp3 .wav .pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Ephemera Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Bob Friedman Emily Bibb and numerous student volunteers Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OralHistory Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Bob Friedman Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Al Isaac Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Transcript of Audio Snippet: Al Isaac: Some other people along with myself, we created the Junior Civic League because there were a Senior Civic League – just a bunch of neighborhood people that came up the Civic League I guess to help out with things in the neighborhood or neighborhood structure or what have you. Alright and then us kids we’re trying to be grown and we come up with a Junior Civic League, which gave us access to this building while the ball games were being playing there. Which was next door to a vacant lot where they had a Rock-Ola tied to a tree with a chain. And the Reeves boys, they would – they’re from Wenonah. There were two of them. Walter Reeves and Tommy Lee. Walter Reeves and Tommy Lee Reeves. They would dance out there by the tree and people would throw quarters, and fifty-cent pieces, and dimes, and nickels. There was money at the end, you know? Bob Friedman: Yeah. AI: And they were doing the twist. I can hear Chubby Checker in the background. (Sings) “Come on baby, do the twist” And everybody’s standing around them, alright. And then I would be inside the building there and I would be playing my Tommy Tucker. (Sings) “Put on your red dress baby, ‘cause we’re goin’ out tonight” and I was just so fascinated by that. Did not have a microphone. BF: Just by yourself with your unit. You were playing to the crowd in the football field. AI: Right. They would come in. They would come in because I would also play "Shot Gun" – the girls is what made the audience, created the audience, because I was playing honky-tonk. I would play the record honky-tonk and the girls would come in and do their slide dance that they were doing at that time. It was a slide, but they didn’t call it the slide. BF: It wasn’t the stroll? AI: It may have been the stroll. I don’t recall what they called it, but the girls would get together – guys wouldn’t do it. Only the group of girls and they’d just be making these steps in a line and we would stand by and just watch the women do this. It was fascinating to me. And I guess that’s where I started picking up my starmanship, because stuff like that fascinated me. It’s sorta like the ones who were out in front of things were the ones getting all the attention. And I wanted to be popular. Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) Audio Snippet: 2 minutes Full interview: 02:05:58 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Al Isaac, Oral History Description An account of the resource A flashback to the 1950's New York City days of Jocko Henderson, Birmingham born and raised Al Isaac had a special connection with his RnB and Blues listening audience at WATV 900 AM in Birmingham. His laugh, his character voices they were clearly a hit with his call-in listeners. Unlike others on the air, Al took listener calls while the music played on. A popular platter party man with local clubs and community groups, Al Isaac made a point of not identifying his music or his artists, and his listeners still loved his show as you can hear from the September 2, 2001 clip we've provided. (Oral History audio is second file, second from left. At far right is a clip of Al Isaac's WATV intro, recorded September 2, 2001.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Al Isaac Bob Friedman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Birmingham Black Radio Museum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 11, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Emily L. Reynolds Emily Bibb Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG PDF MP3 Language A language of the resource English 1970s 1980s A. G. Gaston Al Isaac Alabama Power Bessemer Cumberland Capital Building Dinah Washington Erskine Faush Hayes Aircraft Joe Dentici Joe Lackey Junior Civic League Paul "Tall Paul" White Platter Parties Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart Thomas Jefferson Hotel WATV WBUL Weldon Clark WENN WENN walkout Wenonah