Today is the 26th day of Black History Month. Because the current administration is racist, fascist and wants to deny the existence and histories of anyone that isn’t cis-het and white, there are some important things everyone should remember during this month — and every single month:
- You can’t love Black artists and their work, and not see them as people
- Black lives — and Black art matters
- Black culture is American culture
As we go through the month, I’m going to talk about a collection of Black artists. It’ll be fairly comprehensive and eclectic list — although it won’t be a complete list. Of course, there are some important Black artists, who were also born during Black History Month.
So far, I’ve talked about the following, extraordinary artists:
- Big Boi, who also celebrated his 50th birthday on February 1
- Rick James, who was born 77 years ago on February 1
- James Brown, the legendary Soul Brother #1
- The Temptations‘ Dennis Edward, who also was born 82 years ago on February 3
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of rock ‘n’roll
- Bobby Brown, who also celebrated his 56th birthday on February 5
- The legendary Bob Marley, who was was born 80 years ago on February 6
- James Dewit Yancey, best known to the entire world as J. Dilla, one of the most influential and important hip-hop producers and beatmakers who was born 51 years ago on February 7
- Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul
- Billie Holiday, whose influence on jazz and pop has been towering
- The legendary Roberta Flack, who also celebrated her 88th birthday on February 10
- Janelle Monáe, who’s guably one of the most dynamic and exciting artists out there today
- The legendary The Isley Brothers, who over the course of their eight decade career have written and recorded some of the most beloved, covered and sampled songs ever
- Ella Fitzgerald, arguably one of the greatest and most influential voices ever
- The legendary Maceo Parker, who also celebrated his 82nd birthday on February 14
- Janet Jackson, one of the most commercially successful female artists in recorded history
- Ice T, who also celebrated his 67th birthday on February 16
- The trailblazing Chuck Berry
- Dr. Dre, who also celebrated his 60th birthday on February 18
- Acclaimed British singer/songwriter, musician and producer Seal, who also celebrates his 62nd birthday on February 19
- The great Smokey Robinson, who celebrated his 85th birthday on February 19
- The legendary John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, one of the pioneers of bebop jazz
- The uncompromising and defiantly Black Nina Simone, who was born 92 years ago on February 21
- Parliament Funkadelic, led by their equally legendary frontman George Clinton
- Patti LaBelle has arguably one of the most unique and powerhouse vocals ever
- Erykah Badu, one of the most dynamic and mesmerizing artists I’ve ever seen live
- Bill Withers, one of this country’s greatest songwriters
New Orleans-born and-based singer/songwriter, pianist and rock ‘n roll pioneer Fats Domino was born 97 years ago today. His first single, 1949’s Dave Bartholomew co-written “The Fat Man” has been cited by some historians as the first rock single to sell more than one million copies. Continuing his collaboration with Bartholomew, Domino scored a string of mainstream hits between 1955-1960 that would quickly become rock staples, beginning with 1955’s “Ain’t That a Shame,” and resulted in 11 Top 10 US pop hits.
In fact by 1955, Domino had five records that sold more than a million copies, earning gold certification. Four of his records were named to the Grammy Hall of Fame for their significance to music — “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t That a Shame,” “Walking to New Orleans,” and of course, “The Fat Man.”
Fats Domino was also one of the more influential and beloved artists of his day: Elvis Presley and The Beatles are among the biggest names to cite the pioneering legend’s work as influential to them. And unsurprisingly, he was a member of the first class of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
Happy birthday, legend! Happy birthday, wherever you are!