The Writer's Almanac from Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Writer's Almanac from Thursday, August 29, 2013

"Dog Music" by Paul Zimmer, from Crossing to Sunlight Revisited. © The University of Georgia Press. 2007

ORIGINAL TEXT AND AUDIO - 2013

It's the birthday of British philosopher John Locke, born in Wrington, Somerset, England (1632). He believed in Natural Law and that people have Natural Rights, under which the right of property is most important. He wrote: "... every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has any right to but himself." He believed government exists to protect those rights and he argued in favor of revolt against tyranny. His ideas were a foundation for much of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

John Locke said, "The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts."

It's the birthday of jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, born in Kansas City, Kansas (1920). He is considered one of the half-dozen greatest jazz musicians, right up there with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Early in his career, he received the nickname of "Yardbird," and then he became known as "Bird."

Before Parker's innovations, jazz meant swing, melodies played at dance tempos by musicians in big orchestras who never got to take solos for very long. Late at night, after their big-band jobs were over, Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and other black musicians kept on playing, improvising long lines at blazing speed. Parker used a lot of flatted fifths, and jazz players used the word "bebop" to sing a flatted fifth, but Parker didn't like to use the word for the way he played. "Let's not call it bebop," he said. "Let's just call it music."

As a teenager, Parker became addicted to morphine while hospitalized after a car accident. He later became addicted to heroin, which contributed to his death. The official cause was listed as pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer. On the death certificate, the coroner made a mistake in estimating Parker's age to be between 50 and 60. Parker was actually 34.

Parker said: "I realized by using the high notes of the chords as a melodic line, and by the right harmonic progression, I could play what I heard inside me. That's when I was born."

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

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Galveston, TX – December 21

A Prairie Home Companion Christmas comes to the Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, TX – Songs, Stories, Sketches, and our Same Old Sponsors.

For more details and tickets, CLICK HERE!

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