In More Ways Than One
Aretha Franklin has surprised almost everyone by taking a vehement stand in the support of Black Panther prisoner of war Angela Davis. Sister Davis is presently fighting extradition from New York to California where she is wanted as an accessory to a murder.
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In More Ways Than One
Aretha Franklin has surprised almost everyone by taking a vehement stand in the support of Black Panther prisoner of war Angela Davis. Sister Davis is presently fighting extradition from New York to California where she is wanted as an accessory to a murder.
Aretha said that, “Angela Davis must go free. Black people will be free. I’ve been locked up (for disturbing the peace in Detroit) and I know you’ve got to disturb the peace when you can’t get no peace.
“Jail is hell to be in,” she continued, “I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people.
“I have the money; I got it from Black people — they’ve made me financially able to have it. And I want to use it in ways that will help our people.”
Aretha said that she would pay Angela’s bail whether it was “$100,000 or $250,00(f. ” In capital cases, there generally has to be incredibly strong evidence of guilt in order to deny bail but in Angela Davis’ case, with the “crime” that of murdering (or helping murder) a judge one would not be at all surprised if bail were denied. On the other hand, Miss Davis has received such incredible support from the people that, as with Huey, the pigs will probably not be able to dupe a jury into convicting her.
A few blocks from Warner Brothers’ main studios in Burbank is Chicken Flats.
Chicken Flats is a farm with two houses and grounds, just a few hundred yards from a main street. The houses are occupied by a varied assortment of freaks, rockies and people, including, at least part of the time, John and Catherine Sebastian.
Within the last year, Sebastian has gigged twice at Doug Weston’s Troubadour. There was a difference between the two engagements:
At first, it was the “guy who used to be with the Spoonful and now’s trying to get his own act together.”
In between:
Woodstock.
A helluva record on Warner Brothers, and two unwanted releases to fulfill “contractual obligations” by the MGM ripoff artists.
The Isle of Wight, where Sebastian became the grand pacifier to calm the mass aggro.
His recent set was different. The Troubadour sold tickets in advance, and, by opening night, the scalpers were pushed to find enough tickets (at $15 a throw) for everybody who wanted to get in.
At Chicken Flats, Sebastian rapped about changes in the rear, totally tie-died house, with assorted people wandering in and out to use the pay phone in a living room closet.
On stage, Sebastian talks to people in the audience like they were long-time friends, relating to them on a one-to-one basis, an obvious explanation for his being able to entertain 400,000 people in the rain and mud just as easily as 400 people in the safe confines of the Santa Monica Blvd. club.
John’s life around music started early. His father was a respected classical harmonica player and ^vhile John was growing up in Greenwich Village, he learned to play harmonica and soon earned a reputation for being one of New York’s finest. He attended NYU for a short time and then dropped out and went into music. He was first with the Even Dozen Jug Band until it broke up, and then came the Mugwumps. Aside from John, the group included Zal Yanovsky (later of the Spoonful), Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty (later half of the Mamas and Papas).
After the Mugwumps called it quits (without any evidence of financial accomplishment), John abandoned his musical pursuit temporarily and moved to Marblehead, Mass, where he tried sailmaking. This was short lived, and he returned to music, going South and studying with Lightnin’ Hopkins. While he was learning guitar and singing from Hopkins, he met up with the late Mississippi John Hurt. One of Hurt’s songs contained the line “I love my baby by the tovin’ spoonful . . . ” which later provided the name for John’s next group.
Along with Zal Yanovsky, Steve Boone and Joe Butler, John formed the Lovin’ Spoonful. The group had a long string of big hit songs, mostly written by John, which established them as one of the best American groups of the sixties. A few discouraging hassles and a dope bust in
