This week on v/m, we mourn, honor and celebrate the “King of Love,” as Nina Simone sang, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy, his message and his dedication towards change, peace and freedom for all. He was a learned scholar, preacher, teacher, family man, and a distinguished man of the people socially and politically.
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v/m is a newsletter designed around themed playlists & short-form writing.
We gather five songs and organize them to mirror the progression of a day: morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and late night.
We provide background and lyrical insights to enhance your listening experience and highlight moments that can be elevated with the music.
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Holiday
RoyAyer&TerriWells
Virgin Ubiquity II (Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981) (2005)
The world in hunger (Holiday) was his major theme He asked that peace (Holiday) should be our thing
Start your day off with this song by Roy Ayers and Terri Wells honoring the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is one of our favorite odes to MLK and his message. Not only is it beautifully written, but Ayers’ soulful/funk jazz composition is motivating and inspires us to get up and get to moving.
“Get up
Just one day for Martin Luther
Just one day for all he stood for”
Let Wells effortless singing guide you as you contemplate and give thanks to Dr. King and all that he stood for.
WorkforPeace
Gil Scott-Heron
Spirits (1994)
“The military and the monetary”
Gil Scott-Heron is the master of the spoken word political track. And this is no exception. It exemplifies his ability to make politics danceable, yet his poetry is concise and poignant.
Peace is not the absence of war
It is the absence of the rules of war and
The threats of war and the preparation for war
Peace is not the absence of war
Like Martin Luther King, Jr, Scott-Heron certainly has a way with language. He asks us to challenge and to continually question the “military industrial complex” and its hellbent war efforts.
We gotta work for peace. Love is the way. And music is something we can all share with one another.
So this is a song about tommorrow And about how tommorrow can be better, if we all ’Each one reach one, Each one try to teach one’
Freedom
Tyrone Jefferson
Connections (1994)
As we reach the midday peak, we rejoice. The sun shines, the spirit of Freedom is in the air.
We have Tyrone Jefferson, trombonist and composer, and this little known banger.
The lyrics are short, yet powerful and true.
“I love freedom, freedom I love”
Watch the title track off the album performed below.
Alabama
John Coltrane
The Gentle Side of John Coltrane (1975)
First recorded live at Birdland in 1963, this song was very likely written in memoriam for the four young girls that were victims of the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church committed by a white supremacist terrorist group.
This solemn tune was said to also have been inspired by the speeches of Dr. King, who has long been recognized for his excellent and powerful orations and rhetoric.
Listen carefully and mourn for all the known and unknown victims of the vicious racism of this country.
IHaveaDream
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Finish the day with one of Dr. King’s best speeches, one of the best speeches ever recorded, one that continues to inspire and move us to this day.
When we allow freedom to ring—when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last, Free at last, Great God a-mighty, We are free at last.”
Thanks for reading & listening!
We appreciate you taking the time to listen, read, and explore with us. Music is a journey, and we’re glad to have you along for the ride. We hope today’s playlist not only adds a little rhythm to your day but also sparks a few new discoveries along the way.
Keep your mind and ears open and that curiosity alive. Until next time!
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