* Today in Black History - October 31 *
1893 - Football player, William Henry Lewis, is named as an All-
American, playing for Harvard College. This is the second
year in a row he is named to the All American Team. He is
the first African American athlete to be named All
American.
1896 - Ethel Waters is born in Chester, Pennsylvania. She will
become a famous blues singer, the first woman to perform
W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues," and an actress known for
her roles in the movie "Cabin in the Sky" and such
stageplays as "Member of the Wedding", for which she
will be nominated for a New York Drama Critics Award. Her
awards and honors will include her recording of "Stormy
Weather" (1933) being listed in the National Recording
Registry by the National Recording Preservation Board of
the Library of Congress in 2003; Gospel Music Hall of Fame,
1983; Christian Music Hall of Fame, 2007; a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004; a historical marker
memorializing her unveiled along Route 291 in Chester,
Pennsylvania to recognize her life and talents in the city
of her birth (2015); Commemorative stamp, U.S. Post Office,
1994; Nomination, Best Supporting Actress, Academy Awards,
Pinky 1949; Nomination, Outstanding Single Performance by
an Actress in a Series, Primetime Emmy Awards, for Route 66
"Goodnight Sweet Blues", 1962; Three recordings inducted
into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy Award
established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least
twenty-five years old and have "qualitative or historical
significance." She will join the ancestors on September 1,
1977.
1922 - Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet is born in Broussard, Louisiana.
He will become a jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his
solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B
saxophone solo. Although he will be a pioneer of the honking
tenor saxophone that will become a regular feature of jazz
playing and a hallmark of early rock and roll, he will be a
skilled and melodic improviser, both on up-tempo tunes and
ballads. He will double on the bassoon, one of only a few jazz
musicians to use the instrument. In 1942, at age 19, he will
solo on the Hampton Orchestra's recording of "Flying Home", one
of the first times a honking tenor sax will be heard on record.
The record will become a hit. The song will immediately become
the climax for the live shows and he will become exhausted
from having to "bring down the house" every night. The solo
will be built to weave in and out of the arrangement and
continue to be played by every saxophone player who will follow
him in the band, notably Arnett Cobb and Dexter Gordon, who
will achieve almost as much fame as Jacquet in playing it. It
will be one of the few jazz solos to have been memorized and
played very much the same way by everyone who plays the song.
He will quit the Hampton band in 1943 and joined Cab Calloway's
Orchestra. He will appear with Cab Calloway's band in Lena
Horne's movie Stormy Weather. In 1944, he will return to
California and start a small band with his brother Russell and
a young Charles Mingus. It will be at this time that he will
appear in the Academy Award-nominated short film Jammin' the
Blues with Lester Young. He will also appear at the first
Jazz at the Philharmonic concert. In 1946, he will move to
New York City, and join the Count Basie orchestra, replacing
Lester Young. In 1952, he will co-write 'Just When We're
Falling in Love'; Illinois Jacquet (m) Sir Charles Thompson (m)
S. K. "Bob" Russell (l). he will continue to perform (mostly in
Europe) in small groups through the 1960s and 1970s. He will
lead the Illinois Jacquet Big Band from 1981 until his
transition. He will become the first jazz musician to be an
artist-in-residence at Harvard University, in 1983. He will
play "C-Jam Blues" with President Bill Clinton on the White
House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in 1993. His final
performance will be on July 16, 2004, at the Lincoln Center in
New York. He will join the ancestors in his home in Queens,
New York of a heart attack on July 22, 2004, at the age of 81.
1930 - Booker Telleferro Ervin II is born in Denison, Texas. He will
become a tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing will be
characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel
phrasing. He will be best known for his association with
bassist Charles Mingus. Moving to Tulsa in 1954, he will play
with the band of Ernie Fields. After stays in Denver and
Pittsburgh, he will move to New York City in spring 1958,
initially working a day job and playing jam sessions at night.
He will then work with Charles Mingus regularly from late 1958
to 1960, rejoining various outfits led by the bassist at
various times up to autumn 1964, when he will depart for
Europe. During the mid- 1960s, he will lead his own quartet,
recording for Prestige Records with, among others, ex-Mingus
associate pianist Jaki Byard, along with bassist Richard
Davis and Alan Dawson on drums. Between October 1964 to
summer 1966, he will work and live in Europe, playing gigs
in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
and Holland. After returning to the US in summer 1966, He
again will lead his own outfits in various jazz clubs across
the country, and appear at both the Newport Jazz Festival
(1967) and the Monterey Jazz Festival (1966). In 1968, he
will again appear at clubs and festivals in Scandinavia,
broadcasting with the Danish Radio Big Band. He will record
again for Prestige, but in late 1966, will sign to leading
West Coast label, Pacific Jazz, for whom he will tape two
albums, Structurally Sound and Booker 'n' Brass (1967),
before switching to Blue Note, a label that like Pacific
Jazz will be purchased by United Artists in the late 1960s.
He will record two Blue Note albums under his own name, In
Between and Tex Book Tenor, the latter going unissued
during his lifetime, initially being released in the 1970s
as part of a double album shared with recordings (on which
he will be featured) made under the leadership of Horace
Parlan (Back from the Gig). In 2005, Blue Note will issue
a single CD of Tex Book Tenor in its limited edition
Connoisseur series. His final recorded appearance will
occur in January 1969, when he will guest on a further
Prestige album headed by blind teenage multi-
instrumentalist Eric Kloss. He will join the ancestors on
August 31, 1970 after succumbing to kidney disease.
1935 - John Henry Lewis wins the world light heavyweight crown
in St. Louis, Missouri by defeating Bob Olin. He will
become the first American-born light heavyweight champion
to retire undefeated.
1939 - Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré is born the village of Kanau,
on the banks of the Niger River in Gourma-Rharous Cercle in
the northwestern Malian region of Tombouctou. He will become
a singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African
continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His
music will be widely regarded as representing a point of
intersection of traditional Malian music and its North
American cousin, the blues. The belief that the latter is
historically derived from the former is reflected in Martin
Scorsese's often quoted characterization of Touré's
tradition as constituting "the DNA of the blues". Touré will
be ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100
Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 37 on Spin
magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". As the
first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity on
his home continent, he will be often known as "the African
John Lee Hooker". Musically, the many superpositions of
guitars and rhythms in his music will be similar to John
Lee Hooker's hypnotic blues style. He will usually sing
in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay,
Fulfulde, Tamasheq or Bambara as on his breakthrough album,
Ali Farka Touré, which will establish his reputation in the
world music community. He will be the mentor and uncle of
popular Malian musician Afel Bocoum. In 2002 he will appear
with Black American blues and reggae performer Corey Harris,
on an album called Mississippi to Mali (Rounder Records).
He and Harris will also appear together in Martin Scorsese's
2003 documentary film Feel Like Going Home, which will
trace the roots of blues back to its genesis in West Africa.
The film will be narrated by Harris and will feature Ali's
performances on guitar and njarka. In September 2005, he
will release the album In the Heart of the Moon, a
collaboration with Toumani Diabaté, for which he will
receive a second Grammy award. His last album, Savane, will
be posthumously released in July, 2006. It will be received
with wide acclaim by professionals and fans alike and will
be nominated for a Grammy Award in the category "Best
Contemporary World Music Album". The panel of experts from
the World Music Chart Europe (WMCE), a chart voted by the
leading World Music specialists around Europe, will choose
Savane as their Album of the Year 2006, with the album
topping the chart for three consecutive months (September
to November 2006). The album will also be listed as No. 1
in the influential Metacritic's "Best Albums of 2006" poll,
and No. 5 in its all-time best reviewed albums. Ali Farka
Touré will also be nominated for the BBC Radio 3 awards
2007. He will join the ancestors on March 6, 2006 after
succumbing to bone cancer. In February, 2018, Idrissa
Soumaoro – Bèrèbèrè (featuring Ali Farka Touré) will be
used in the movie, "Black Panther."
1945 - Educator, Booker T. Washington, is inducted into the Hall of
Fame for Great Americans.
1950 - Earl Lloyd becomes the first African American to play in
an NBA game when he takes the floor for the Washington
Capitols in Rochester, New York. Lloyd is actually one
of three African Americans to become NBA players in the
1950 season. The other two are Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton
and Chuck Cooper. Lloyd will play 9 solid NBA seasons
from 1950 to 1960.
1953 - John Harding Lucas II is born in Durham, North Carolina.
He will become a professional basketball player and play
guard for the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. He
will become a NBA coach after retiring as a player. He
will coach the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and
Cleveland Cavaliers, each for less than two seasons,
compiling a 174-258 overall record. Prior to accepting
the head coaching position for the Cavaliers, he will be
an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets for three
seasons.
1961 - Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will
become a basketball coach and former player who will be the
head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National
Basketball Association (NBA). As an NBA point guard, he will
be known for his defense, a trait that will carry over into
his coaching. After his third season at Marquette University,
he will be drafted in the second round (31st overall) of the
1983 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He will graduate from
Marquette while completing course work as an NBA player. He
will spend the next seven seasons as a starter in Atlanta,
assisting star Dominique Wilkins as the team will find great
regular-season success. He will average a double-double for
the 1986–87 season with 12.8 points and 10.0 assists per
game. He will later spend one year as a starter for the Los
Angeles Clippers and two more for the New York Knicks, before
finishing his career as a player for the San Antonio Spurs
from 1994 to 1996. After retiring as a player, he will coach
the Orlando Magic (1999–2003), Boston Celtics (2004–2013; On
June 17, 2008, he will win his first NBA Championship as a
head coach) and Los Angeles Clippers (2013–present). On June
16, 2014, the Clippers will promote him to president of
basketball operations in conjunction with his continuing head
coaching duties. Although Dave Wohl will be hired as general
manager, Rivers will have the final say in basketball matters.
On August 27, 2014, he will sign a new five-year contract with
the Clippers. On January 16, 2015, he will become the first
NBA coach to coach his own son, Austin Rivers until June 26,
2018, when he is traded to the Washington Wizards for Marcin
Gortat. On August 4, 2017, he will give up his post as
president of basketball operations. However, he will continue
to split responsibility for basketball matters with executive
vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. On May
23, 2018, he and the Clippers will agree to a contract
extension.
1969 - A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in
Jacksonville, Florida. The disturbance is caused by
tensions between whites and Blacks during civil rights
demonstrations.
1975 - Willie Ray "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is born in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
He will become an ordained minister, a gospel singer and
pianist, best known for his 2002 album, I Need You Now and
his 2004 release, Nothing Without You, which will win a
Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary
Soul Gospel Album in 2004. He will receive his second Grammy
in 2015 at the 57th Annual Grammy awards for his song "No
Greater Love", ten years after winning his first. He will be
an internationally renowned musician, music composer, and
recording artist. His debut compact discs entitled I Need You
Now and Smokie Norful Limited Edition will garner favorable
accolades and awards across the world, including the 2005
Grammy Award for Contemporary Soul Gospel Album of the Year
for his release entitled, Nothing Without You; three Stellar
awards; four Dove awards; three Gospel Music Excellence
Awards; an NAACP Image Award nomination; a Soul Train award
nomination; two nominations for the BET award for gospel
music; two RIAA certified Gold selling compact discs; and
countless others. He will again get the Grammy nod in 2015
for best gospel song/performance for "No Greater Love."
Pastor Norful will contribute as a writer to five platinum
selling compilations, and will write for numerous major
label gospel recordings. Billboard magazine will name him
the number one selling gospel music artist for 2003 and
2004. His notable performances will include such events as
the Trumpet Awards, Save Africa's Children Event in Soweto,
the BET Awards, the Stellar Awards, Soul Train, hosting and
performing on the Dove Awards, the Parade of Stars, the
Essence Music Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Festival and
numerous other notable festivals, events, concert halls,
and tours.
1993 - Letitia Michelle Wright is born in Georgetown, Guyana and will
be raised in London, England. She will become an actress.
Beginning her professional career in 2011, she will play
roles in several British TV series, including Top Boy, Coming
Up, Chasing Shadows, Humans, the Doctor Who episode "Face the
Raven" and the Black Mirror episode "Black Museum"; for the
latter she will receive a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will name
her among the 2015 group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits for her
role in the award-winning film Urban Hymn. In 2018, she
will achieve global recognition for her portrayal of Shuri in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, "Black Panther." She will
reprise the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers:
Endgame, the latter of which will be the highest-grossing
film of all time. In 2019, she will receive the BAFTA Rising
Star Award.
2000 - Willow Camille Reign Smith is born in Los Angeles, California.
She will be known mononymously as Willow, a singer, songwriter,
record producer, actress and dancer. She is the daughter of
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the younger sister of
Jaden Smith. She will make her acting debut in 2007 in the
film I Am Legend and later appear in Kit Kittredge: An
American Girl alongside Abigail Breslin. She will receive a
Young Artist Award for her performance. She will launch her
music career in the autumn of 2010 with the release of the
singles "Whip My Hair" and "21st Century Girl", and sign to
her current mentor Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation, becoming
the youngest artist signed to the label. "Whip My Hair" will
peak at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video will
be nominated for Video of the Year at the BET Awards of 2011.
She will release her debut album, Ardipithecus, on December
11, 2015. On June 24, 2019, she will announce her third
studio album, Willow. The album will be released on July 19,
2019, and will be co-produced by herself and Tyler Cole.
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