Happy BElated 85th Life Affirmation Day To The Late Great Johnny Ace! The First Rock-N-Roll Star & Casualty & Booker T. Washington High School's (Memphis,TN) Most Famous Dropout!!!

A True Unsung With One More Note To Sing: We All Be Will Never Forget The Late Great Johnny Ace!!!

Posthumous Recipient Of The 2012-2013 Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Award For A Life Dedicated To Excellence In Music & Music Education!!!
http://www.jimmielunceford.com

Sunrise 6/9/1929-Sunset 12/25/1954

 

"The Late Great Johnny Ace" by r2c2h2 Tha Artivist (2011)...11" x 17" prints (11" x14" actual image size) of the featured artwork, "The Late Great Johnny Ace" by r2c2h2 Tha Artivist is available for purchase...Also take advantage of the 5 for $50 art sale deal!!! Visit r2c2h2.com for more details.

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W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: My Brother's Keeper: The Late Great Johnny Ace Remembered By His Brother, St. Clair Alexander

WATCH NOW:

http://youtu.be/fMWn9eCZAPE

In memory of St. Clair Alexander (Sunrise March 15, 1932-Sunset August 5, 2011)

My Brother's Keeper: The St. Clair Alexander Interview

In an exclusive and rare interview soul singer St. Clair Alexander a.k.a. Buddy Ace aka St. Clair Ace reminisces about his brother John Marshall Alexander, Jr. a.k.a. The Late Great Johnny Ace, his achievements and the circumstances surrounding his controversial death.

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News: Brother Of Music Great Johnny Ace, St. Clair Alexander, Used As A Guinea Pig By The U.S. Military, Owed $75,000…

READ NOW:

http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2010/02/brother-of-johnny-ace-used-as-guinea.html

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W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: Tha Artivist Remembers The Late Great Johnny Ace

WATCH NOW:

http://youtu.be/t3P7N4GNwx8

 

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & R2C2H2 Tha Artivist Remembers Forgotten & Unsung Rock-N-Roll Pioneer Johnny Ace, 55 Years After His Tragic Death By An Accidental Self-Inflicted Shooting On Christmas Night At The Age Of 25.

 

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The Late Great Johnny Ace: Dr. James Salem's Partial Interview (10/21/2009)

 

WATCH NOW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxMW-pryr8

In Memory Of Dr. James M. Salem
(Sunrise 11/15/1937-Sunset 7/6/2012)

In an exclusive interview with W.E. A.L.L. B.E., Dr. James Salem, acclaimed Johnny Ace aficionado and author of the definitive and exceptional 'The Late Great Johnny Ace & The Transition From R & B To Rock-N-Roll' discusses the extraordinary life, times and achievements of Johnny Ace.

Unfortunately Dr. James M. Salem passed away July 6, 2012:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tuscaloosa/obituary.aspx?pid=158453336

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W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: "Pledging Our Love: The Late Great Johnny Ace Remembered" Dr. James M. Salem (Full Interview)~10/21/2009

 WATCH NOW:

http://youtu.be/EP1clHqD_Zc

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In Memory Of Dr. James M. Salem
(Sunrise 11/15/1937-Sunset 7/6/2012)

In an exclusive interview with W.E. A.L.L. B.E., Dr. James Salem, acclaimed Johnny Ace aficionado and author of the definitive and exceptional 'The Late Great Johnny Ace & The Transition From R & B To Rock-N-Roll' discusses the extraordinary life, times and achievements of Johnny Ace.

Unfortunately Dr. James M. Salem passed away July 6, 2012:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tuscaloosa/obituary.aspx?pid=158453336

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Happy BElated 85th Life Affirmation Day Johnny Ace!!! The First Rock-N-Roll Star & Casualty & Booker T. Washington High School's (Memphis,TN) Most Famous Dropout...

by Bro. Ron Herd II aka r2c2h2 Tha Artivist aka Tha Artsotrian
W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News Special Report 

John Marshall Alexander Aka The Late Great Johnny Ace (Sunrise 6/9/1929-Sunset 12/25/1954)

Picture: Dick Clark & Johnny Ace in the early 1950s

He Was Arguably Rock & Roll 's First Star & Its First Tragic Hero In History…He Was Born John Marshall Alexander,Jr., One Of 11 Children, Son Of A Preacher Man & A Devout Christian Mother Raised In The Black Church…Although He Was Brought Up In A Strict & Religious Household He Nevertheless Dropped Out Of Booker T. Washington High School & Joined The Navy Eventually Getting Dishonorably Discharged (Johnny Was More Of A Lover Than A Soldier)…However, Johnny Ace Was Baptized & Made On World Famous Beale Street… 

B.B. King & The Godfather of Beale St. aka Andrew 'Sunbeam' Mitchell

The Legendary & Unsung Andrew 'Sunbeam' Mitchell, Music Promoter, Bootlegger, Gangster, Hotel Proprietor & Pimp, Was The True Patron Saint Of The Beale St. Musician...What 'Sunbeam' Mitchell Did For American Music Is Equivalent To What The Medicis Did For The Italian Renaissance & What The Negro Leagues Baseball Did For Major League Baseball...His Mitchell Hotel Provided Shelter, Food & Inspiration For The Black Musician...Sunbeam Gave The Black Musician Not Only Space To 'Woodshed' (An Intense Period Where A Musician Practices & Hones His Craft) But Also A Chance To Reinvent Themselves Aesthetically Speaking, From Men To Supermen...The Mitchell Hotel Was The First Stop On The Road To Glory For Many Future Music Superstars, Luminaries & Icons Such As Ike Turner, B.B. King, Little Richard & Yes Johnny Ace!!! So In Essence The Mitchell Hotel Was A Major Network Hub For The Black Musician, A True Clearinghouse For Legendary Musical Talent...Johnny Ace Sang & Played Piano For The Blues Supergroup 'The Beale Streeters' Which At One Point Included Such Luminaries & Future Icons Such As B.B. King, Bobby ‘Blue’ Band, Earl Forest  & Rosco Gordon…The Beale Streeters Were The Blues Version Of The Hip Hop Group Wu Tang Clan, Or The NBA’s Big 3 In Miami  AKA LeBron James, Chris Bosh, & Dwyane Wade…However, When I Finally Met The Great Bobby 'Blue' Bland In March 2012 He Kindly Corrected Me And Said In So Many Words That It Was The Other Way Around...Johnny Ace Also Hosted A Radio Show At The Innovative & Legendary WDIA Radio Station, The First Station In The U.S. To Feature An All Black-Based & Focused Radio Program Format.

r2c2h2 tha artivist & Bobby Blue Bland (March 2012)...Mr. Bland Told Me That He Thought Johnny Ace Was A Great Singer...

Music Mogul & Visionary Don Robey

Johnny Ace's Big Break Came When He Was Picked By WDIA Program Director & Duke Records Founder David James Mattis To Record 'My Song' (Ace's Friend Bobby 'Blue' Bland Was First Picked To Record Ace's Eventual First Big Hit But Was Not Able To Because He Could Not Read, He Was Illiterate At The Time According To Several Sources)...Legendary & Infamous Houston Nightclub Owner, Chitlin Circuit/Music Promoter, Entrepreneur & Gangster Don Robey Heard Ace & Soon Became Interested In Not Only Hearing Him Sing But Also Shepherding His Career...Don Robey Was A True Music Business Visionary, He Was A Mixture Of Berry Gordy, Russell Simmons, & Suge Knight All In One...The Colorful & Notorious Don Robey Eventually Made Mattis An Offer He Couldn't Refuse & Eventually Became Duke Records' Principal Owner & CEO, Forcing Mattis Out All Together...

Johnny Ace Was The Major Headline Act & Biggest Seller For Duke Records…He Was Rock’s First Superstar & The Top R & B Act In the Country…With His Silky Smooth Voice & Matinee Idol Looks, Johnny Ace Was The Heartthrob Of Young Black Females Everywhere… He Became So Famous And In Demand That Clubs & Other Venues Had To Either Book B.B. King, Little Richard & Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland As His Opening Acts In Order To Get Johnny Ace As The Main Event!!!

Unfortunately, Johnny Ace Took His Life By Accident While Playing With His Gun Backstage During A 5 Minute Break Between Performances At City Auditorium In Houston,TX, On Christmas Night 1954…Johnny Ace Was Known For Playfully Pointing His .22 Caliber Pistol At Folks As Well As Shooting Roadside Signs With It While On Tour...He Would Always Assure Folks That He Knew Where The Bullet Was In The Chamber When He Would Frighten People By Pointing The Gun At Them As Well As At Himself...Allegedly He Pointed His Gun First At His Girlfriend’s Head, Olivia Gibbs,  Who Was Sitting On His Lap Pulling The Trigger With No Bullet Discharging…He Then Pointed The Gun At His Own Head Thinking It Was Empty…Needless To Say It Wasn’t… 

To This Day There Is Still Debate On Whether Johnny’s Death Was Accidental Or Involved Foul Play…

His Funeral Was January 2, 1955, @  Clayborn Temple AME In Memphis, TN, With An Estimated 5,000 People In Attendance…He Is Buried In New Park Memorial Cemetery In South Memphis…His Biggest Hit Came Posthumously, “Pledging My Love”, Which Went No. 1 On The Billboard R & B Charts & Stayed On Top Of The Charts For 10 Weeks Starting February 12,1955...Johnny Ace Was Literally No. 1 With A Bullet…Ironically “Pledging My Love” Was Also The Last Song Another Famous Rock Balladeer & Memphis Musician Recorded, Elvis Aaron Presley…The song is also featured in Stephen King inspired and John Carpenter directed classic car horror movie "Christine" and in the crime drama movie "Bad Lieutenant" starring Harvey Keitel...

It Was Normal Practice For White Artists To Cover Music Hits Made By Black Artists For White America’s Consumption (Think Pat Boone’s Version Of Little Richard’s “Tutti Fruitti”)…However, Ace’s “Pledging My Love” Became So Popular Among White Teenagers That It Created A Demand For ‘The Real Deal’…It Was A Crossover Sensation!!! Johnny Ace’s Bittersweet Success Made It Possible For Folks Like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke,  Jackie Wilson & Others To Have Unprecedented Access To A Mainstream Read White Audience & Greater Commercial Success…

Johnny Ace With 21 Songs & Only A 18 Month Career Laid The Foundation For The Things To Come But For The Most Part His Unique Legacy Seems To Have Laid Almost Forgotten Among The Margins & Weeded Fields Of American Music History…However, That Is All Beginning To Change…

More News Related To The Late Great Johnny Ace

*W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Special*

Pledging Our Love...The Ultimate Johnny Ace Tribute

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/12/31/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

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Support The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Movement!!! 

Donate online:
http://bit.ly/VfaE1N

Or send a money order to the
following address:

Attn: Ron Herd II
The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc.
P.O. Box 752062
Memphis, TN 38175

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: Blues Great Bobby Rush King Of The Chitlin Circuit: Sue's Boyfriend Uncensored & Uncut~11/13/2011 & 11/14/2011

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: Blues Great Bobby Rush King Of The Chitlin Circuit: Sue's Boyfriend Uncensored & Uncut~11/13/2011 & 11/14/2011

The Meeting Of 2 Rambling Blues Men: Bro. Ron aka R2C2H2 Tha Artivist & Bro. Bobby Rush~11/10/2011

WATCH NOW:

http://youtu.be/CjSTp1UMqNg

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Tha Artivist Writes:
Bobby Rush is a true American Master and National Treasure...He is one of the Blues' greatest artists and ambassadors...In this exclusive and insightful 2-part interview with W.E. A.L.L. B.E., the living legend gives us candid insight into his seminal career, homespun folksy wisdom and thoughts about the contemporary music scene including Hip Hop/rap...Learn about how the infamous Capone Mob helped launch his storied career, how he became the only artist to secure his master recordings from the fabled Chess Records (Cadillac Records), how he survived a showdown with legendary Memphis kingpin and music impresario Sunbeam Mitchell and how Sam Walton,the founder and visionary behind Wal-mart, helped fixed his car when he was stranded on an Arkansas Highway...He also reveals the true meaning and history of the Chitlin' Circuit and the blues...This show is an instant classic and must listen!!!

About Bobby Rush

At a time when most of his contemporaries are resting on their laurels, Bobby Rush—a 50-year veteran of the stage—remains one of the most exciting and creative artists in the R&B/blues arena. Rush’s live shows are without parallel, replete with costume changes and comedic sketches acted out with the assistance of his lovely female dancers. In addressing a broad range of matters of the heart, Rush adopts various onstage persona-the adoring lover, the cuckold, the boastful stud-delivering all with a knowing wink that assures the audience that he’s in on the joke.

In the context of today’s all too predictable and sanitized blues market, it’s easy to understand why audiences new to Rush’s performances often find them novel or even bewildering. Unique they are, but Rush’s signifying, jesting, and double entendré jiving are at the heart of the blues, as exemplified by forbears such as Bessie Smith, Louis Jordan, and Howlin’ Wolf.

Bobby Rush—it’s pronounced as one three-syllable name—calls his music “folk funk,” an apt description for a blend that’s both decidedly modern and deeply rooted in tradition. Over the decades he has consistently updated his music by incorporating new styles-- Chicago blues, soul, funk, reggae, and hip-hop—into a fresh mix. At the same time, his original compositions often stem from his dipping into the well of folk wisdom, as exemplified by songs like “What’s Good For the Goose is Good for the Gander Too.”

The son of a preacher man, Bobby Rush was born Emmet Ellis, Jr.,in the north Louisiana town of Haynesville; he later adopted his stage name out of respect for his father. He built his first instrument, a primitive guitar or “diddley bow,” and by his early teens he was donning a fake mustache and appearing at Deep South juke joints. In the mid-’50s he moved to Chicago, where his bands included Freddie King, Earl Hooker, and Luther Allison, and on jaunts back to his family home in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he performed with artists including Elmore James.

Rush began working as a bandleader already as a teenager once he realized that he could control his own destiny if he owned all the equipment. His entrepreneurial flair is legendary among fellow musicians, who fondly recall his earning double pay by working in disguise as the emcee on his own gigs, and his shuffling between three gigs a night at West Side nightclubs.

Rush’s popularity as a live performer in Chicago set back the development of his recording career, but he began to achieve national acclaim in 1971 following the success of his hit “Chicken Heads” on Galaxy Records. Over the next decade he recorded for labels including Jewel, Philadelphia International, Warner Brothers, and toured widely on the “chitlin circuit,” the decades old network of clubs that stretches in a rough triangle between east Texas, north Florida, and Chicago.

In the early ‘80s Rush moved to his current home of Jackson, Mississippi, where he recorded a series of albums for the LeJam, Ichiban, and Malaco labels, and gained the title of “king of the chitlin circuit” in the wake of hits including “Sue,” “Wearin’ It Out,” “Ain’t Studdin’ You,” and “Hoochie Man.”

In 2003 Rush fulfilled his longtime dream of forming his own label, Deep Rush, recording the CD “Undercover Lover” and capturing the magic of his live show on DVD at the club Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The same year his showmanship was featured in Richard Pearce’s documentary film “The Road To Memphis,” part of Martin Scorsese’s film series “The Blues.”

Rush has also demonstrated his deep blues roots in the last several years through several special recording projects on Deep Rush On 2004’s “Folk Funk” he revisited the funk era on a live studio outing with guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, and on his most recent CD “Raw” he strips his sound down to the basics, appearing only with his guitar and harmonica. Although he still maintains a busy schedule with his band, these sessions have inspired him to make occasional solo performances, which have been wonderfully received.

In the last decade Rush has gained new audiences through performances at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and on festival stages in Europe and Japan. But catch him on an average weekend and he’s just as likely to be playing to packed houses in chitlin circuit clubs in places like Nesbit, Mississippi, and Smackover, Arkansas, before mostly black, working class audiences that conventional blues wisdom suggests no longer exist.

Success in the music business often entails leaving behind the people who sustained you during your early years, but that’s not a price Bobby Rush is willing to pay. As his career takes off in new directions, he’s determined to keep it real, presenting the same unadulterated show as he moves from Tokyo to Smackover. Or as he explains in what has become somewhat a mantra of late, “I want to cross over, not cross out.”

--Scott Barretta

website:

http://www.bobbyrush.net

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And The Best Is Yet To Come!!!

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Support The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Movement!!!

Donate online:

http://bit.ly/VfaE1N

Or send a money order to
the following address:

Attn: Ron Herd II

The W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc.

P.O. Box 752062

Memphis, TN 38175