000020 - Inez Andrews, Gospel Singer

Inez Andrews (April 14, 1929 – December 19, 2012) was an American gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist. Her soaring, wide-ranging voice — from contralto croon to soul-wrenching wail — made her a pillar of gospel music. The Chicago Tribune stated that "Andrews' throaty contralto made her low notes thunder, while the enormous range of her instrument enabled her to reach stratospheric pitches without falsetto" and that "her dramatic delivery made her a charismatic presence in church and on stage."

Andrews started singing in the church as a child and performed gospel music on the road in various gospel groups from the 1940s before joining The Caravans in 1957. Fellow member from The Caravans in the 1950s, Shirley Caesar, once dubbed Andrews “The High Priestess” for her ability to hit high notes, and, in 2013, stated, "there never was and never will be another voice like Inez Andrews." Another early member of the The Caravans, Albertina Walker often said, "nothing ever worked for the Caravans until Inez started whistling” — hitting the high notes. She sang lead on The Caravans first breakthrough hit, "Mary Don't You Weep", and also had hits as a solo artist with crossover recordings such as "Lord Don't Move That Mountain." She was referred to in 2012 by the New York Times as "the last great female vocalist of gospel’s golden age,” ranking among the likes of other music legends from the "Golden Era" of Black Gospel (1945-1960) - Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Clara Ward. 

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 14, 1929, Andrews traveled a tough road to gospel stardom. She began singing as a child in church and began songwriting as a young mother in Birmingham. Andrews was working six days a week, ten hours a day for eighteen dollars a week, while "washing, ironing, cooking, keep up with the kids." With her busy life in her youth, she felt that life had to have more to offer her. As she pondered that prayerfully, she picked up "a pencil and a brown paper bag" and began to write. Thus began her songwriting career. Andrews began her singing career in the 1940s with two groups in Birmingham, Alabama; Carter’s Choral Ensemble and the Original Gospel Harmonettes. By the mid-1950s, the Harmonettes were one of the nation’s top gospel groups, with Andrews the understudy for the group’s lead singer, Dorothy Love Coates. Coates recommended Andrews to the Caravans, and she eventually moved north to Chicago to became widely known as that group's first successful singer, leading them to the high of their popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s.  In the 1960s, Andrews solo work and songwriting further ensconced her in the gospel pantheon. Her songs were recorded by many artists, including The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Aretha Franklin.  Andrews became one of the major stars of gospel's golden age, The Caravans songs such as "Lord Keep Me Day By Day", "Remember Me", "I Won't Be Back" and several other hits in which Andrews was lead vocalist, including "Mary Don't You Weep", "I'm Not Tired Yet", "Make It In", "He Won't Deny Me" and "I'm Willing".

In 2006, she released a reunion album with The Caravans, Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, and original soprano Delores Washington, entitled Paved the Way.  

After a stellar career with the Caravans, she left the group in 1962 and had huge success with her crossover hit, "Lord Don't Move the Mountain". Andrews recorded on many labels after the 1950s and had many albums and hit songs to her credit, some of which she composed herself.

Andrews was a dedicated Christian and family person and raised seven children during her career in gospel music. She died on December19, 2012 at the age of 83.She had been diagnosed with cancer months earlier.  Andrews is survived by seven children, 19 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

In 2002, Andrews was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame. It was announced prior to her death that Andrews would be honored with the Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award at the 2013 Stellar Awards.  The award ended up being presented posthumously.

The discography of Inez Andrews includes the following:

Studio Albums

• 1963 - The Need Of Prayer
• 1964 - Letter To Jesus
• 1972 - Lord Don't Move That Mountain
• 1975 - This Is Not The First Time I've Been Last
• 1979 - Chapter 5
• 1981 - I Made A Step
• 1982 - My Testimony
• 1984 - Lord Lift Us Up
• 1986 - Jehovah Is His Name
• 1987 - The Two Sides Of Inez Andrews
• 1988 - If Jesus Came To Your Town Today
• 198? - Close To Thee
• 1990 - A Sinner's Prayer
• 1990 - Lord Lift Us Up
• 1990 - My Testimony
• 1990 - I Made A Step In The Right Direction
• 1990 - Inez Andrews
• 1991 - Raise Up A Nation
• 1991 - Shine On Me

Live Albums

• 1974 - Live At The Munich Gospel Festival

Compilation Albums

• 1999 - Headline News
• 2005 - Most Requested Songs

Singles

• 1972 - I'm Free / Lord Don't Move The Mountain
• 1975 - Help Me / God's Humble Servant
• 1980 - I'm Free / Lord Don't Move The Mountain (re-release)
• 19?? - Close To Thee

000019 - William Clarke, Jamaican Reggae Singer

William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke (February 6, 1948, Mandeville, Jamaica – February 2, 2014, Orlando, Florida, United States), also known as Bunny Scott, was the lead singer of Jamaican reggae band Third World as well as recording as a solo artist. He began his career in the mid-1960s and was also at one time a member of Inner Circle and half of the duo Bunny & Ricky.

The discography of William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke include the following:

Albums

• To Love Somebody (1975), Klik - as Bunny Scott
• Talking to You (1995), Greensleeves/Shanachie
• Bunny Rugs On Soul (2000), DFP Music
• What a World (2006), Elite Music Group
• I'm Sure (2007), CED
• Time (2012), VPAL

Compilations

• Timeless Classics (2011)

Singles

• "Let Love Touch Us Now"/"I Am I Said" (1982), Black Ark International - 12-inch, credited as 'Bunny Rags'
• "Be Thank Full" (19??), Belleville International
• "War, War, War" (198?), Black Scorpio
• "Bridges Instead" (1990), Two Friends - 12-inch, Shabba Ranks featuring Bunny Rugs
• "Here Comes Rudie" (1991), Exterminator - Gregory Isaacs & Bunny Rugs
• "Rude Boy" (1991), Xterminator - Tony Rebel, Gregory Isaacs, and Bunny Rugs
• "If I Follow My Heart" (1993), Tuff Gong
• "I'm The Ghetto" (1993), Leggo
• "Stand By Me" (1994), Shanachie - Bunny Rugs & Papa San
• "Stand By Me" (1994), Black Scorpio - Papa San & Bunny Rugs, B-side of Papa San's "Girls Every Day"
• "Now That We've Found Love" (1995), Greensleeves - 12-inch
• "Now That We Found Love" (1995), Black Scorpio - featuring Sean Paul
• "Now That We Found Love" (1995), Shanachie
• "Apartheid No!"
• "I'll Be There" (2002), Joe Frasier
• "What a World" (2004), Raw Edge
• "Marcus Garvey" (2004), Mister Tipsy
• "Writings on the Wall" (2005), Elogic Music Group - Wayne Marshall & Bunny Rugs
• "Now That We've Found Love" (2006), CED - CD maxi single
• "World Today" (2007), Hyper-Active Entertainment
• "Down in the Ghetto" (2007), Taxi - Bounty Killer & Bunny Rugs
• "Satamassagana" (20??), Coptic Lion - featuring Tappa Zukie
• Excerpts from the album Time EP (2011)
• "Big May" (2012), Black Swan/Trojan
• "Land We Love" (2012)

With Bunny & Ricky

• "Freedom Fighter" (1974), Black Art
• "Bushweed Corntrash" (1975), Black Art

000018 - Morrie Turner, Creator of "Wee Pals" Comic Strip

Morris "Morrie" Turner (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an African-American syndicated cartoonist, and the creator of the comic strip Wee Pals. Turner was the first nationally syndicated African-American cartoonist.

Raised in Oakland, California. Turner grew up in West Oakland and attended McClymonds High School. However, in his senior year, he moved to Berkeley to finish his high school years at Berkeley High School. 

Turner received his first training in cartooning via the Art Instruction, Inc. home study correspondence course. During World War II, his illustrations appeared in the newspaper Stars and Stripes.  After the war, while working for the Oakland Police Department, he created the comic strip Baker's Helper.

When Turner began questioning why there were no minorities in cartoons, his mentor, Charles M. Schulz of Peanuts fame, suggested he create one.  In 1965, the strip Wee Pals became the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity. Although the strip was only originally carried by five newspapers, after Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, it was picked up by more than 100 papers. By the early 1970s, Turner's "integrated" comic strip "Wee Pals" was followed on a daily basis by nearly 25,000,000 readers.

In 1970 Turner became a co-chairman of the 1970 White House Conference on Youth.

Turner appeared as a guest on the May 14, 1973 episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where he showed the host pictures he had drawn of several of his neighbors, as well as presented a clip from his Kid Power animated series, which was airing Saturday mornings on ABC at the time.

During the 1972-73 television season, the monolithic and monoethnic nature of American television began to change, and Morrie Turner and his artistic talent were instrumental in this change. Turner's comic strip became televised in two different ways. The show Kid Power became a popular Saturday morning cartoon that aired throughout the United States. All of Turner's characters were featured, and they were united through the coalition the characters themselves dubbed as "Rainbow Power". During the same season, Wee Pals on the Go was aired by ABC's owned and operated station in San Francisco, KGO-TV.  This Sunday morning show featured child actors who portrayed the main characters of Turner's comic strip: Nipper, Randy, Sybil, Connie and Oliver. With and through the kids, Turner explored all kinds of venues and activities that were of interest to child viewers of the time, from a candy factory to a train locomotive. After a successful pilot, this project was filmed and aired for an entire television season (also 1972-73). This exposure helped increase Turner's popularity.

As the Wee Pals comic strip's popularity grew, Turner added characters. He included children of more and more ethnicities, as well as a child with a physical disability. The all-inclusive nature of the comic strip and the relevance to everyday people were part of Turner's formula for success.

During the Vietnam War, Turner and five other members of the National Cartoonist Society traveled to Vietnam, where they spent a month drawing more than 3,000 caricatures of service people.

Turner was impressively knowledgeable about African American history and combined his artistic talent with historical facts to publish books, calendars and other materials that were educational, esthetically pleasing and humorous.

He had the original copy of the book Wee Pals, which was burned in a fire at his home in Berkeley in the late 1980s.  The house was later rebuilt.

Turner preferred being called "Morrie" and contributed his talents to concerts by the Bay Area Little Symphony of Oakland, California. He drew pictures to the music and of the children in the audience.

On May 25, 2009, Turner visited Westlake Middle School in Oakland to give a lesson to the OASES Comic Book Preachers Class of drawing. Turner collaborated with the class's students to create the book Wee the Kids from Oakland, which gave a chance for students to express their challenges, successes, and pride as youth in Oakland.

Turner married Letha Mae Harvey on April 6, 1946.  They collaborated on the strip Soul Corner.  Morrie and Letha had one son, Morrie Jr. Letha died in 1994. Late in life, Turner's companion was Karol Trachtenburg of Sacramento.

Turner was an active member of the Center for Spiritual Awareness, a Science of Mind church in West Sacramento, California. 

The Family Circus character of Morrie, a playmate of Billy — and the only recurring black character in the strip — is based on Turner. Family Circus creator Bil Keane created the character in 1967 as a tribute to his close friend.

In 2003, the National Cartoonists Society recognized Turner for his work on Wee Pals and others with the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award.

Throughout his career, Turner was showered with awards and community distinctions. For example, he received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Inter-Group Relations Award from the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith. In 1971, he received the Alameda County (California) Education Association Layman's Annual Award.

In 2000, the Cartoon Art Museum presented Turner with the Sparky Award, named in honor of Charles Schulz. 

Turner was honored a number of times at the San Diego Comic-Con.  In 1981, he was given an Inkpot Award.  In 2012, he was given the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.

Turner died on January 25, 2014, at age 90.

The works of Morrie Turner include:

Wee Pals collections

• Wee Pals That "Kid Power" Gang in Rainbow Power (Signet Books, 1968) 
• Wee Pals (Signet Books, 1969)  — introduction by Charles M. Schulz
• Kid Power (Signet Books, 1970)
• Nipper (Westminster Press, 1971)
• Nipper's Secret Power (Westminster Press, 1971)
• Wee Pals: Rainbow Power (Signet Books, 1973) 
• Wee Pals: Doing Their Thing (Signet Books, 1973)
• Wee Pals' Nipper and Nipper's Secret Power (Signet Books, 1974)
• Wee Pals: Book of Knowledge (Signet Books, 1974)
• Wee Pals: Staying Cool (Signet Books, 1974)
• Wee Pals: Funky Tales (New American Library, 1975)
• Wee Pals: Welcome to the Club (Rainbow Power Club Books, 1978)
• Choosing a Health Career: Featuring Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang (Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, 1979)
• Wee Pals: A Full-Length Musical Comedy for Children or Young Teenagers (The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1981)
• Wee Pals Make Friends with Music and Musical Instruments: Coloring Book (Stockton Symphony Association, 1982) 
• Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang: Thinking Well (Ingham County Health Department, 1983)
• Wee Pals Doing the Right Thing Coloring Book (Oakland Police Department, 1991)
• Explore Black History with Wee Pals (Just us Books, 1998)
• The Kid Power Gang Salutes African-Americans in the Military Past and Present (Conway B. Jones, Jr., 2000)

Willis and his Friends

• Ser un Hombre (Lear Siegler/Fearon Publishers, 1972) 
• Prejudice (Fearon, 1972) 
• The Vandals (Fearon, 1974) 

Other books

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Freedom (Ross Simmons, 1967) 
• Black and White Coloring Book (Troubadour Press, 1969) — written with Letha Turner
• Right On (Signet Books, 1969)
• Getting It All Together (Signet Books, 1972)
• Where's Herbie? A Sickle Cell Anemia Story and Coloring Book (Sickle Cell Anemia Workshop, 1972)
• Famous Black Americans (Judson Press, 1973)
• Happy Birthday America (Signet Book, 1975)
• All God's Chillun Got Soul (Judson Press, 1980)
• Thinking Well (Wisconsin Clearing House, 1983)
• Black History Trivia: Quiz and Game Book (News America Syndicate, 1986)
• What About Gangs? Just Say No! (Oakland Police Department, 1994) 
• Babcock (Scholastic, 1996) — by John Cottonwood and Morrie Turner
• Mom Come Quick (Wright Pub Co., 1997) — by Joy Crawford and Morrie Turner
• Super Sistahs: Featuring the Accomplishments of African-American Women Past and Present (Bye Publishing Services, 2005)