Terry Roland, a fine writer for Sun209.com, recently did a thought-provoking interview for Folkworks with Josh White Jr., son of the legendary and blacklisted folksinger . It appears that courage and compassion are in the Whites’ DNA.
You’ll want to read the entire interview, but we wanted to share Josh’s thoughts on how music can bring people together:
“I admire Nat King Cole because he could find appeal with black and white audiences. My dad did the same thing. And the more I sang, the more my mind went toward what things bring us together. It was in the music. Anywhere he went, my old man could always find a song. He started at the age of seven by leading blind black blues singers through the streets to perform. He saw his father murdered just before that. All of that could have made him a very angry black person. But, he didn’t do it. He didn’t have an education. He couldn’t express things in speaking but he could find a song. We can always find music to express our feelings. Or to sing the feelings of those who don’t have a voice. That’s what feels good about what I do. I touch minds and hearts.”
