Genius Burning Brightly: The Unraveling of Gil Scott-Heron
Posted By The Editors | March 6th, 2009 | Category: Hot Topics | 61 comments
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By TaRessa Stovall
The good news: Gil Scott-Heron is alive.
The bad news: Just barely.
This is not a premature eulogy. It is the heartbreak of a lifelong fan suffering the self-destruction of someone whose voice, rhythms and brilliance are such an integral part of my coming-of-age soundtrack that my life story cannot be told without them.
There is nothing new in this tragedy: far too many of the artists who inform and enliven our lives are on collision courses with self-inflicted doom. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
The last time I saw Gil perform live was in 1986. I was helping a producer friend with a Black History Month festival. We snagged Gil for a free concert in the Seattle Center. The crowd of people outside who couldn’t get in was twice the size of the throng breaking the fire codes inside. The warm-up act went into triple overtime waiting for Gil to arrive.
Gil Scott (right) and Mos Def
When he finally showed, more than an hour late, he made a beeline into the Ladies’ Room (I don’t think he noticed or cared where he was), took a hit of freebased cocaine and a slug of liquor, then asked me to get him some cigarettes. I told him to get onstage before a riot broke out. He shot me a bemused glance, then strode into the adoring applause and unleashed a more-than-satisfying set of every hit, from “Home is Where the Hatred Is” to “The Bottle” to “Johannesburg” to “Winter in America,” “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” and all the others, for a couple of hours. The crowd went wild.
He always appeared much older; back then, he made 37 look like 50. Still, he was handsome in his gaunt, tortured genius street warrior kind of way. And no matter his habits or proclivities, Gil Scott-Heron’s music has always been artistic, spiritual and emotional bedrock for me, and a guiding light in my writing career.
So when a friend e-mailed me a couple weeks ago with tickets to see Gil perform at SOB’s (Sounds of Brazil) nightclub in New York City, it was on. We got there early, snagged seats at the lip of the stage and ate dinner, half-wondering whether he would even show. After all, the last time friends and I had been on our way from Jersey into The City to see Gil in 2007, the gig was canceled at the last minute. It wasn’t until later we learned it was because he’d been arrested. Again.
The concert was billed to start at 8; he came in around that time. I almost didn’t recognize him, since he was wearing a suit, rather than the jeans and sneakers uniform I’d always seen him in before.. He rocked shades, though it was pitch black outside and nightclub-dim inside, and an apple cap covering what may have been a receding hairline or bald spot. His beard and the hair that wasn’t covered were snow white.
It took him nearly another hour to make his way to the stage. His first song was my all-time favorite, the very first ever downloaded onto my iPod — “95 South, (All of the Places We’ve Been)” a melodic ode to the late civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and other giants upon whose shoulders we stand, which says, in part:
Placed on this mountain
With a rare chance to see
Dreams once envisioned by those
Much braver than me …
… It’s their lives that shine on,
Inspire me to climb on
From all of the places we’ve been…
Over the years, many friends and I have shared memories of Gil, our sorrow upon learning of his stints in prison when he should have been schooling the hip hop heads on how to bring political consciousness into their lyrical rants, and our heartbreak at the news that he is HIV-positive.
He was there, in the flesh, performing at SOB’s, but it wasn’t a pretty sight. We were close enough to see the unnatural glaze of his eyes, the tremors quaking his hands and legs as he leaned into the keyboard, almost as if for support, croaking several of his hits into the mic.
From the start, he was weak and weary, like whiskey watered so far down that only the barest hint of its kick remains. We winced at his pain, glaring naked in the spotlight, and at the death-mask smile he flashed, which made him look like the Grim Reaper. Even as his high was intensified by the thrill of making music, he seemed to be mocking our enjoyment of his performance, our witnessing his once prodigious gifts now so threadbare and wan.
I flashed back to a two-year period in the early 1980s, when, as a twenty-something veteran of the 1960s, I required a hit of Gil’s music to get me out of bed and into my day. He was my morning coffee, the jolt of inspiration I needed just to put one foot in front of the other and take on the world.
Now in his late 50s, he looks 80. Seeing him so broke-down and wobbly, I remembered my mother’s heartbreak when she and her best friends had gone to see Billie Holiday. They were as giddy and expectant as we were going to SOB’s. Mom came home, her face heavy with disappointment. When I asked how Billie was, lamenting that I, a first-grader, hadn’t been old enough to see her myself, Mom shook her head sadly and said, “She’s almost dead. It wasn’t the same. She was high and sick. I don’t think she’ll be around much longer.”
Billie Holiday died soon after.
That’s what I thought of as I watched Gil stumble through his songs, joking about his lapses in memory and his wavering voice, once so powerful, now just a faint shadow of its former self. It appeared as though his spirit was on life support.
I recalled the first time I’d heard one of his masterpiece odes to addiction, “Home is Where the Hatred Is,” released in 1972 by Esther Phillips, another brilliantly talented junkie. In typical teen-girl style, I fell dramatically across my bed, mesmerized by the lyrics, hypnotized by the raw anguish of the message and determined to find out who had written this amazing song.
Gil played “Home…” near the end of his recent SOB’s set. Invigorated by the music, he turned it into an improvisational jazz testimony in which he moaned and sang his agony over, under and around the lyrics he’d written as a youth. He jammed with everything he had, telling his story to a crowd so high on his presence that most seemed to miss the message completely. They were in party mode, arms waving in the air.
He spilt his tortured genius for us, raw, uncensored, his eloquent anguish filling the club like a whirling dervish. We drank it in, mainlined it, and those of us who grew up with Gil Scott-Heron, those of us who have lived his lyrics in the context in which they were written, sung and recorded, felt something inside give way and die just a little, with every note, every word, every gesture that he threw our way.
Between songs, he spoke of his children, of a new CD coming soon and a book he is writing to tell the whole story behind the movement to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Like the standing-room-only crowd that night at SOB’s; like millions of others around the globe, I would like nothing better than for Gil Scott-Heron to live to a ripe old age, playing and writing and agitating as only he can for many years to come.
I guess it’s possible; Etta James is still alive and performing despite her years of substance abuse. But being in the presence of one of the great minds and talents of our time as he looked and sounded more like the frail, eccentric uncle at the family reunion than a genius warrior wordsmith and musical marvel left me feeling that he may be singing “And it might not be such a bad idea if I never went home again” before his time, the one fragile thread he is hanging on to snapping sooner than any of us would like.
TaRessa Stovall is Managing Editor of TheDefendersOnline and Web Content Manager for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
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I have never seen Mr. Gil Scott-Heron in this lifetime. So I often wonder why I feel so extremely close to him. It has to be because when I was just a toddler he was in heavy rotation on my parents’ stereo along with the likes of Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and Santana. I was just a child so how could I have possibly identified with Mr. Scott-Heron’s mature lyrics? Well it is obvious to my soul that we have certainly crossed paths on some spiritual plane. I have been telling myself for years now that I will make the very easy commute form Brooklyn to SOBS, where he has been in concert more than enough times for me to see him. But I never have. When I saw this article my heart sank because I indeed thought he had passed and I had missed my chance forever. And as I read along, clinging to every line, my feelings were hurt and I became disappointed at my failure to commit to seeing such a genius who was essentially at my fingertips. Now, I have to wonder, am I strong enough to see him this way, broken, frail and lost in his years of life? I’m not sure. But deep down something tells me I’d rather see him “this way” that to never lay eyes on him or experience his presence in this lifetime at all. I hope and pray that he makes his way back to SOBS, perhaps for one last time. Until then, I will continue to glance at his picture that hangs on my office wall. I love you Mr. Scott-Heron, for extending your whole true high, low and in between self to us…yesterday, today, always.
This is so beautiful and on point. I was listening to Gil yesterday and recalled seeing him walking down Broadway a few years ago looking like a ghost. It’s hard to be an American prophet…
people who get as close to the Truth as gil has always seem to get burnt.
The last time I saw Gill in person was in Chicago ’1985. His slide through life has been well chronicled and the article gives you a front row seat, not just of the performance at SOB but a short epic on the man that influenced so much of our social vision during his best of times. Makes my heart hurt to know that “The Bottle” is all but empty.
But at least we have memories.
Samad (aka Gil Scott Heron)
Wow!
thank you my dear sister Taressa,
this is the most beautiful tribute to our beloved brother that I have ever heard, you captured him and it’s obvious that he captured you at some point in your life, injected you, affected you deeply, so deeply that your musical thought became as luminous and as soulful as his, is, was and always will be. In the arabic language there is a name Samad, which means The Eternal, the never ending, Samad is, was and always will be. Gil is Samad and the life support his spirit is on is us and now we must resuscitate his beautiful spirit, his fearless voice, his timeless word, we should pray that we can be as true to our art and the struggle. Like Muhammad Ali he shook up the World, like Baldwin said he was no longer a fixed star in the sky, his magnificent movements shook the foundation of the white man’s world. He was a shooting star that defied the gravitational force of this world and what he said with one voice today will be echoed by the multitudes tomorrow. It will take a lifetime to truly understand him, he was never really with us, always ahead of us clearing the path, slaying the dragons, our own poetic Nat Turner, he came to die for us, because he loved us so, oh if only we learn to love this way. Rollo May once said “that the artist defies death, for in creating his art he gains immortality” He is a miracle, a gift to us from Spirits on High, it is a miracle that he was blessed to be among us for so many generations, doing battle with the most diabolical demons known to man. They have been poisoning and killing our beautiful warrior wordsmith since he opened his mouth and they will continue to try and silence him even after he closes his mouth for that last time, but he is not his mouth, his body or his voice, that is just an illusion, he is Divine Spirit. Samad is Eternal, he is in us and with us forever and ever. Always remember dear sister artist don’t die…we just go on tour.
“The pen of the scholar is more valuable than the blood of the martyr”
Lets not forget for one moment how great this man is/was. He was way ahead of his time and because so many of us were on his back we helpped him fall down. But he is still able to walk thank God for our brother. Many of us are walking stronger because of many brothers and sisters who carried us. What’s The Word!
While Gil was in prison during 2007 I had a brief correspondance with him. His letters were never anything but kind, insightful, and hopeful for his, and everyone’s futures. I haven’t seen him in the flesh, as he can’t tour outside the U.S. at the moment, but in his letters he was certainly not a faint shadow of his former self, and instead seemed vastly happier, and healthier than is reported. I hope, and believe, that this grim, though touching article, is simply the result of a bad night at S.O.B’s, and that Gil will dispel any and all fears with the new album. love. x
An almost overwhelming piece, which made me cry. I grew up with Gil Scott-Heron (his music), and knew people who knew him (we’re the same age). Saw him for the last time about a decade ago, was shocked at his appearance but thrilled at the performance. This “tribute” brings back so much, it’s almost overwhelming. I’m getting ready to play “Watergate Blues,” followed by “Winter in America” in my class on the 1960s (which is really about the end of the “sixties”). For my generation, for me, this essay “The Unraveling,” to some extent expresses what we experienced then — which Gil Scott-Heron, more than perhaps any other then, helped us understand in music and lyrics. I’m sad, but I’m really glad I read this.
Thanx, TaRessa, for capturing Gil Scott-Heron, past and present. For those interested, NPR has 21 hits in their archive search for him. Among them, I think that his WFUV interview, “Gil Scott-Heron: Forefather of Rap” recorded by Claudia Marshal on December 11 2007, captures the essence of TaRessa’s experience.
I remember having dinner with Cornel West in New Haven about twenty years ago…after dinner we walked past the club “Toad’s Place” and there we saw Gil standing in the doorway taking a smoke…he was to perform there that night…I remember at some point Cornel and Gil talked about his beautiful ex-wife (Judy Pace?)…Gil was talkative but scary…and I thought then that the brother would not be around much longer…by the way does anyone know what happened to Brian Jackson- his partner on those early albums? in any case, thanks for this essay… even though it is terribly sad, it also speaks to the respect many of us had and/or have for Gil and the knowledge that Gil is and was always worthy of celebration…
Sister Ta Ressa,
Your narrative is very profound. This is almost a love letter to Brother Gil, but also for all of us who have always loved this mighty warrior-messenger. I was only six years old when Winter In America was recorded, but my mother played it and other Gil Scott-Heron treasures throughout my young life. My favorites on that album were the personals peices like “A Song for Bobby Smith” and “Your Daddy Loves You” which I sing to my little chocolate girl. So thank you for remembering one of our lyrical heros. By the way Brother Watts, Gil was married to Brenda Sykes not Judy Pace, although another lyrical giant was married to Judy’s sister, Oscar Brown Jr.
Peace & Blessings,
John King
This was a wonderful piece. Sad, but wonderful. I remember seeing Gil at his height, in the early through the late 70s, when he was just amazing. Amazing on stage, amazingly prescient, amazingly good. It’s so sad that no one could help save him from himself–we are the poorer for it.
This is in response to Jerry Watts inquiry about Brian Jackson. Brother Brian is living in New York, raising his family and still playing music around the world. He remains strong and in tact. You can check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/itsyourworld.
This story is beautifully written and haunting…moving me to tears…but also to give thanks for all Brothah Gil has endured and taught me. Growing up in the South in the 70′s…he taught me to think outside the box, not accept what I was being told as truth…to question EVERYTHING!!! He influenced me as a citizen and an artist even to this day and I love him deeply. May he find strength in the Truth of who he is.
Brother Bilal Sunni Ali, ” Doc” Barnett Williams, Brother Kokayi, and myself have fond memories of sharing with this man when he was healthy, and through his dark times….I am saddened to learn his self abuse has rendered him frail….yet his Spirit is still strong….we should encourage Gil to do what he can to muster as much good health that is possible and before he leaves us….Give us one more shining moment to share with our new children of this generation who need to hear his voice …and know his story…even when we are all gone home….Peace Gil…Peace go with you Brother….
Hey, I’m feeling you on the tragedy of Gil-Scott Heron. I remember becoming acquainted to Gil’s former manager about 1982. And it was then I found out that Gil-Scott Heron, the brother who warned us of the dangers of Angel Dust, not only in his music but on radio spots, was a serious coke addict. Such a serious addict, that the manager told me that after being paid for a gig in Oakland, the manager quickly bought tickets home before Gil could blow it on coke. They left to go home, with Gil still in Oakland trying to get high. You’re exactly right that his music was the soundtrack to my own campus activism back in the day. He provided us clarity on so much of what was going on. It was Gil who hipped me to apartheid in South Africa. It was Gil who peeped the dangers in Nicaragua. Gil was the one who, in the midst of our depression about the election of Ronald Reagan, declared, “Mandate my ass!” Gil, critiqued the mind control visited on U.S citizens in “Vildgolia.” Before Gil Scott-Heron I don’t think I fully understood how tragic irony could be…
Dear Ms. Stoval,
I can read through the lines and tell that your “love” affair with Gil Scott-Heron’s music and the man transcends the time that inspired Gil to pen the stories of life happening in the volatile sixties and seventies! I too am a student of the teachings of great writers like Gil and Abiodun of The Last Poets. The teaching that their music words brought to the “Baby Boomers’ Generation” is exceeded by no other communication vehicle. I, just like you, am crying in my heart about the physical killing that Gil has bestowed upon himself over the last forty plus years. I often asked myself, because I live in the New York Metro Area, and had contact with Gil over the years as though I was one of his confidants. This contact came through my fanatical pursuit to make sure I was in attendance at most of his concerts between Boston and Chocolate City DC. I too, played his music in the mornings of my need to be inspired as I went out the door to battle “White Supremacy” in the University I attended and at the job that gave me short money to research Black Neighborhoods in New York City. Gil Scott-Heron was a much a part of my education on becoming a “Black Man” as any lessons I picked up through my seach for knowledge of self.
This article that you have written gave me time for pause about “Our” story down the road of life that is interestingly mixed with Gils’ failing health and the loss of the powerful voice that gave all of us such energy. I’ll continue to support Brother Gil, regardless of the state of his voice or physicall health, because I’ll be paying “HIM” back for the foundation in Black Manhood that His music and life gave me. The template that Gil provided forced all of us to check the roads on life’s journey. He forced Us to make positive choices that went directly against what we witnessed Gil doing to himself. I will always remember the strong voice and strength of character. Additionally, I will never forget His Story as told through the great musical lyrics the songs painted about the Life and Times of Brother Gil Scott-Heron!
Ms. Stoval, I salute You for inspiring me to once again bring out the talent of Gil’s work in my writing and in my heart. May Gil Live to be 103, and I, 103 minus a day, so that I’ll never know that Gil passed away. I took that last phrase from my memories of the great radio DJ, Mr. Frankie Crocker, as he left his show each day on radio. It explains my love for Brother Gil Scott-Heron!
Peace and Blessings,
Brother Zachary C. Husser, Sr.
Image Builders
I read the article, and since I’m family, can you imagine how heartbreaking this is for us? We still love him so much. His illness comes as no surprise, because it was predicted (by me) if the lifestyle didn’t change. Despite the fact he still “went back out there,” and now the world knows, we are still willing to do whatever, and to be there for him. The article was forwarded by a family friend, and has inspire me to make it a point to find him. I’d almost given up. Usually a regular at SOB’s for his Dr. King tribute, this time I went to the inauguration. I thought about how Gil should have been onstage in D.C., at the “People’s Ball.” If readers pray for his recovery (you can live with HIV, look at Magic), it’s going to take a miracle of God to keep him safe, not just for his fans, but his family, and most important, himself.
Thanks TaRessa,
I didn’t know if the man was alive or dead, you have your views & feelings & i respect that, your article
was from the heart, i’ve never had the chance to see him live but his infectious music & lyrics paved the way
for many of us globally, Gil Scott Heron is one of a kind & has done so much to share his spirit with us
worldwide!!
He has been around a long time always ahead of his time & i’m glad to hear that he is still with us,
would be good if he came over to the uk for a few shows, he’s one of those many wonders of the world.
I loved reading all the comments & had to add to what you have started TaRessa.
Preacher B. in the uk
Saw Gil at 9:30 Club in DC last year…awesome show, despite his memory lapses for which the crowd amply and gleefully filled in the lyrical blanks. It was sad to see how he looked, but it was still marvelous to be in his presence. As with a lot of life-long junkies, Gil’s hanging on by a string, but I wouldn’t eulogize him yet. His magic on stage is no less hypnotic, his words no less prophetic and appropo for our times. He is a gifted artist and a gift to us. We must not judge as his fate is no different from many geniuses in the industry; he’s just managed to live longer somehow (an act of God maybe?), hence, blessing us just that much more.
Dear TaRessa,
A friend forwarded me this article, and I was moved by your compassionate description of what you saw that night. As someone who has known Gil since he was 19, I understand what it’s like to witness what has happened to my friend/brother over the past 40 years. I feel sorry for all of his loyal fans who, having kept up with him over the years, have experienced such pain and disappointment, as well as such joy and light.
I can offer no explanation nor words of consolation. I have no inside information nor insights to share to help put things into perspective. I am as sad and bewildered as surely you must be. Having reconnected with him after almost 15 years (we performed together once in1994 and again from 1998-2001), Gil stopped communicating with me in 2004, which came as no surpise, since he had already alienated most of his closest friends and family by then.
Notwithstanding, I went to visit him at SOBs in November of 2007, having realized that our friendship was probably on life support. I pulled the plug that night. I greeted him in the dressing room downstairs with a hug, said goodbye and walked out. I haven’t heard from Gil since that night.
You need to know that all of the warriors have not succumbed. There are still some of us fighting. I am still out here doing what I did as co-leader of the Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson bands – writing, producing and performing. That many don’t know the size of my contribution to the legacy of Gil Scott-Heron has frankly been discouraging at times, but has never stopped me from doing what I love.
I’ve produced for artists as diverse as Will Downing, Gwen Guthrie, Masauko of Blk Sonshine, Ladybug of Digable Planets, and recorded with many others. Lately, I’ve reconnected with some of my inspirations and mentors – people like Ron Carter, Airto Moreira and Mike Clark – in a project called Legba’s Light that you’ll be hearing more about very soon.
I have always taken my job of maintaining what I call ‘The Tradition’ very seriously. I work with young artists to share what I have learned and am learning, knowing that this is part of my responsibility for having been handed the honor of helping to preserve it.
This is an amazing piece. Thank you for sharing your perspective. It’s very similar to my own, replete with shock and sadness. But it’s not over. Remember, EVERY minute is the first minute of a new day.
a friend also forwarded this email to me. It is a very sad reminder to read this article. I was gil’s significant other for a number of years, and did all I could to get gil to stop what he was doing to himself. Everyone likes to think it’s a ‘bad day’ or a ‘bad night’ for him because they don’t want to believe this is what he has become. Gil once said to me in a moment of pure honesty while he was getting high (which was pretty much all the time) – “baby – there is no ‘get famous 101′ , you know? They don’t teach you how to deal with that s**t”!. Gil also has personal issues that go way back to his childhood, and until it gets dealt with, I don’t believe he will ever stop getting high. I tried to organize an intervention back in 1999, but there were only two of us that were willing to be involved. Myself and one of gil’s family members. That was not considered enough people to go ahead with it by the ‘professionals’. Everyone else I asked at the time to be involved was afraid they would lose gil as a friend. My point was you will lose him altogether. I wrote to many people trying to get Gil some kind of assistance. I tried everything. I left gil because it was killing me to watch him commit slow suicide and not be permitted to do anything about it. Also left because I was afraid of the company he kept and the diseases they had. I hope people who truly care about gil, speak up like this writer has, and get together and maybe come up with some ‘creative angles’ to save gil from himself….. “whatever happened to the protest and the rage……whatever happened to the people who gave a damn….” Contact me. I still give a damn.
I’m a Gil Scott Heron groupie. I was blessed to study under Gil at Federal City College in the 70′s when Gil was right out of college himself. I’ve seen Gil perform many times, last time August 2003, Blues Alley, Geogetown, Washington, D.C. I am an Internationally acclaimed poet, author, teacher and Gil is very instrucmental in my accomplishments. This is a sad sad story, but I will continue to pray for Gil’s comfort and shout his praises and share his works. I still play “Winter In America” on my turntable and I pray to see Gil one more time in my life. May God bless Gil and he will always be my “Sunflower in Sunshine” a poem I wrote for him, in my book “Forever In Your Eyes”. Sylvia Dianne Beverly Ladi Di “Love Poet”
I have known Gil for forty years and right now I am crying. We met when I was a air personality on Temple U. jazz radio WRTI-fm. He came by to discuss “Small talk on 125th street” and we were close until I left LA in the late 80′s. We met when the music was the catalyst to the revolution. With him and Nikki, and Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Oscar Brown Jr. and Grover et al; we distilled the essence of the Black consciousness in it’s confluence with the cosmic OM. I mostly sat and learned. But, even later, when Vaughn and I worked with him at Arista on “Moving Target’, Gil’s genius over rode all demons. I hope there is one more triumph in my friend. But, right now I cry. Peace and Harmony. Primus.
Wow, like awesome, is not a word I like to use. But that is all I can think of. So good to hear (read) Brian Jackson. Scrolling up, looking to see if Bilal Sunni Ali had commented, I see Hafiz Farid started on the same vibe. Gil has been on this road it seems forever. Does what don’t kill you make you stronger? Who is the dead man walking? And talking? What is mortal? What is immortal? How can any of us, any one of us, know such a thing? But I am glad I took a moment to engage this. It is all I can do to hold back tears for Gil. Indeed, what IS the word Reggie? Was that you drummer man? Is Gil the exception that proves the rule? No need to throw dirt on him. He has buried himself. But so did Charlie Parker, like Lady Day and Esther, a genius whose awesome (oops) potential we mortals may covet, but can not divine. Bird was also the word and like Gil too marvelous for words. What is it about genius and the flame? Wow. Denzil Best. Compared to what. I can’t get started. Body and Soul. Dig. So what? Kinda blue. A Love Supreme. Stuff. Holy Ghost. Judge ye not………..
Dear TaRessa,
I believe I may have attended the same performance at the Sounds of Brazil that you have described in your article. I had visited Gil a few times during the months before the event, and had been planning to see his traditional performance in New York during the MLK Holiday period, but did not get to see him perform until later.
I believe it was the MLK performance which had been canceled at the last minute, which you have described in your article, and which may have then led to the rescheduling of one of the performances, which you and I had later seen; if so there had been one on a Wednesday, and another the following evening, in either February or in early March, and I saw the Wednesday performance, if you were also there, Gil had introduced me to you there.
During the performance I was happy to see Ed Brady who is always extraordinary on electric guitar, Kenny Powell on drums from the original Amnesia Express, Tony Duncanson who was beyond percussion that evening, the remarkable bassist, Rob Gordon, and of course Gil, who although vintage, had been nevertheless once again, arguably as adept and entertaining a solo pianist, songwriter, singer, and band leader, with the true wit and timing of the most rare and gifted stand-up comedy, as any living performing artist known..
The who’s who of talent which has performed with Gil through the years is part of his legend, and some of his remarks concerning the importance of Brian’s contributions to his music are not only to be found in his new book, but have been also generally well known. I still find Gil and his band to be among the cleanest and most refreshing musically, of all of the professional live musical performing and entertainment experiences.
Notwithstanding the many curiosities which the world has about him beyond the stage, nevertheless Gil and his band remain incomparable, and this has become somehow even more true, with the addition of Kim Jordan, whose performances on piano which I have seen, and whose singing are truly beyond the extraordinary, which I am certain you had also noticed.
Some of the students at Johns Hopkins have been recently writing to Gil, and within a few weeks of the concert which you and I had attended, I later traveled with Gil and his companion to Princeton University, for a lecture and performance which he had been invited to present there, with Kim. The reception for him there was overwhelming.
Although for many years I have known Gil to be a gifted writer, and had experienced some of this first hand during the time we had spent as students at Johns Hopkins, where Gil had also been teaching Writing Seminars, and where I had also first met Brian (Hakim), nevertheless it became even more clear to me at Princeton, on his birthday this year, that what Gil has “to say, and to play, to write, and to recite, to bring and to sing, to do and to review”, have never been more relevant, and have never been more important, for all of us, especially now.
I encourage you and each of your readers to follow-up with the professor at Princeton who had invited Gil to lecture and to perform there on his birthday, and I am confident that there are likely to be many better days ahead, for everyone, including for Gil, if you and many of your readers will do this. Yet even if you may not do this, there are many better days ahead.
I also hope that you and all of your readers will follow-up with the students at Johns Hopkins and the Professors at Princeton, who have been recently writing to Gil, and that you will continue your sincere and genuine interest in this truly remarkable and legendary genius, notwithstanding the may challenges and obstacles with which he has been doing battle during much of his life, and ours.
I hope that you and everyone who loves Gil will continue to support his remarkable band, encourage more academic and speaking appearances from him, and support his new book when it appears. It is on the “Holiday Tour” during which Gil had, as you are well aware, toured with Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley, for the Nationalization of the MLK Birthday, Holiday.
The book although semi-autobiographical, places a great deal in historical perspective, and is predicted to become a national and international historic and literary treasure, since it reveals Mr. Wonder’s efforts through the eyes of a musically performing witness on the tour, who was not only invited personally onto the tour by Stevie, but who had also just so happened to be a gifted writer, from Fieldston, from Lincoln University, and later from Johns Hopkins.
Such a book would not otherwise be expected to be written by a single author, and as an academic musician, I believe Gil will be interested in your commentary, and in that of your readers, when the book becomes available.
Respectfully,
“Doc” Jones (Doc)
R.A.Jones, M.D.
Director, Healthy Music Lab Research Mathematics
Teaching Tools For Tolerance Projects: Research Consultations Division
Chairman and Director of Research
People Against Racism, Inc. (PAR, Inc.)
Founder and President
The Global Industrial Number Company, Inc.
Wow! It’s such a powerful experience to read so many varied views regarding Mr Gil Scott-Heron. A very good friend from the DR shared the comments of Ms. TaRessa Stovall above, and I couldn’t stop reading. My friends and I spent many late nights in the 70′s jamming to: “In The Bottle”, and “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and of course “WaterGate Blues, ” If Ag-knew …”! As one of the writers mentioned above, we get so caught up in our daily routines, that we miss opportunities to be among some of our most gifted and brillant artists ,Toads Place is 45 min. from me and I rarely venture to CT. to avail myself of these rare opportunites. Mr. Heron’s life experiences mirror so many of our other great poetic revolutionaries of the 60′s and 70′s. However, it’s refreshing to note that while there is no “Help 101″, we tend to learn life experiences by doing, and there are still many who have tried and continue to try to make a difference. I’m very greatful to have Mr. Heron’s work on original LP’s (what’s that?), and they’re still very relevant and still sound excellent!
I really appreciated the expression of love and caring in this piece. I knew Gil at Lincoln Univ., when he used to sing and the “rabble” would throw nickels. I’ve watched from a distance as he waged his war with this unjust world. Gil is still expressing his anger and making his sacrifice. Love him for his generosity and know that he is still bringing us to the full awareness of who we are, what’s going on, and what we must do to make the world a better place.
Peace to you Gil.
Love,
Emery
wow, what a comment T
i read many other comments as well. being a licensed therapist and pastor there is one underlying note i detect; love. we love gil and perhaps he will read this and recognise this as cyber intervention and enter into treatment along a with an impartation of the words of life we have spoken about , to his spirit if you will. where ever two touch and agree it shall be done by our heavenly father. we speak life to the gifts given to you gil, a fresh anointing fall up you in jesus mighty name we also arrested the effects of hiv call ing it out by name rendering it helpless and defeated in that great name above every name by which any man must saved, jesus. we call forth good health and peace to be planted ;remaining throughout all the appointed days given you from the begining of time by our god the creator of all life and that life in abundance, full of prosperity and sucess including the increase of blessing to your children forevermore.
if you agree, this your opportunity to give your best to gil (as he has gave to us)
say Amen (let it be done) Believe only!!!!
Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. We come to discover what our purpose is, and to fulfill it, one Today at a time. Gil continues to walk large, in his own shoes, and on his own path. He continues to teach, and touch, and move those who hear him — whether in person, or through the voices of others, like the elders who raised their toddler on Gil’s music, and the artistic collaborators who carry The Message through music, pigment and words, many of whom have left comments here. What a blessing, to be on the same sphere, floating in the same space at the same time. You, Ms. Stoval, have carried The Message in your exquisitely penned tribute to the living Gil Scott-Heron. The living. That’s who is and what he is doing. It’s who we are and what we all do, in “all of the places we’ve been.” Just living. Fulfilling a purpose that is ours, for better or worse. Thanks for being not just touched, but moved. Write on.
If you’ve heard Gil Scott-Heron’s music, you’re aware of the majesty and depth his talent represents. If you’ve met him, you’re also aware of the the stark contrast and contradictions his life gives meaning to. If you haven’t heard his music or met him personally, you’ve missed an opportunity to witness genius, love, torment and intelligent rage lifted beyond human experience… to universal pulse.
I’ve done both — having listened to his music long before meeting him here in New Orleans at a Tulane University performance many years ago. It was in that meeting, in that brief conversation We had, that i came to understand the unique torture and doom awaiting anyone committed to speaking truth to power. Brother Gil helped me realize that he couldn’t be (or become) the man people hear in his songs; that he couldn’t (and wouldn’t) stop people from fooling themselves about who he really is; and that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from being himself.
Noble and tragic.
Uplifting and self-destructive.
Powerful and weak.
There aren’t enough words to describe the perverse conflicts driving Gil Scott-Heron.
And it hurts so badly watching him take a leisure stroll to the bottom of hell.
Asante Sana! Thank you my sister!
Sitting here in Natchez Mississippi reading your tribute to Gil Scott-Heron is both pain and pleasure. The last time I saw Gil was maybe 20 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can still see him as my lasting impression, slurring his speech in between soul satisfying performance of one of his message songs I wanted so much to hear him tell the crowd. I wanted him to tell them in messages and ways that have always been a source of strength. I wanted him to tear at the uppie-buffie values and beliefs of too many later generations of black folk who seemingly refused to take on the “system” but thought they were part of the system.
It hurted to know he was becoming a victim of the drugs and other vices the system’s keepers promote to keep generations from becoming full humans of justice on the planet as Gil’s (and yes, I hated to see the break with him and Brain) music messages implored us.
Gil-Scott Heron’s albums and cassetts recordings are the heart of my collections. I just played him two weeks ago. Being here in my hometown bible belt of Natchez Mississippi, where it seems to be as dark as night in spiritual, cultural and social justice, in comparsion to light as day Afro-centric culture or social-political-health justic conscience, my person needs Gil all the time.
You have cleared up a concern that is a constant. What has happened and where is Gil Scott-Heron? I too thought he had crossed over when I first received the email with your timely message.
Oh! How my person have hoped and longed for Gil to make a comeback over all these recent past years.
I needed to hear his insightful messages about so many things that happened in the world that is unjust. I needed to hear him speak to so many people lost in Materialism, money chasing, political foolishness and cultural surrender. Yes! Strong directions messages for our youth culture, countering the decadent popular culture destruction. I wanted to hear anything new in these subject area from Gil.
As I sit here crying tears from my 69 years old eyes coming from the heart, while word processing my comments, Spirit says Gil Scott-Heron and Brain Jackson and ‘em have already provided us with the messages in these areas mentioned just above. All we have to do is just replay them and up date them to the now time. Because the more things have changed, the more they remain the same.
Gil Scott-Heron has changed physically, so have we all, but in my heart and mind he remain the same resource of Spiritual and Cultural strength in a white supremacy domination system that cannot produce better people, but can come up with better things to try seducing those of us who struggle to bring about the prevalance of human justic and personal spiritual evolution on our Divine Earth.
“Peace be with you brothers, peace be with you sisters” We all been out on the road too long” Aluta Continua! And the struggle continues!”
Gil Scott-Heron life represents the incredible consequences paid and torture endured by great genius with courage. Thank you sister for the amazing look into the life of one of our most courageous, most important and most powerful voices. I always wondered why they did not kill such a powerful and honest voice. America has a habit of doing that to brilliant black folk who speak truth to power and refuse to conform. And Rollo May said that in this modern time “cowardice is not a lack of courage, but conformity.” The internal dissonance when one tells the truth to power and not get heard can take a person’s spirit. It can make ones life like some kind of joke, some kind of bad joke. Similar to Richard Pryor, blessed with eyes and heart to see and tell the truth, Gil paid dearly for what he has given us. Instead of focusing on the results of the arduous journey of an amazing brother, the more important lesson may be to try to determine how we can better support, protect and ensure the survival of our young Gil Scott-Herons who are dying every day. The pain of Black youth can be seen in Gil’s work and his “Message to the Messengers” shows that he understood very well the connection between Black community and out youth. Few understand as well how the current challenges our youth face are directly connected to a society that has never, has NEVER allowed Black people to be Black, to be courageous, to be successful and to be alive. It is his life that Gil gave to us and he has likely looked death in the face all of his days, not just at the end.
Blessing on you Brother Gil Scott-Heron and thank you for all you have given us.
Asante’
WHAT CAN I SAY, BRIAN JACKSON RESPONDED, HIS FAMILY SPOKE WORDS HERE, FRIENDS ,FANS, LOVERS. I AM SPEECHLESS YET I CONTINUE TO TYPE. I WILL NOT SPEAK OF THE INFLUENCE GIL-SCOTT-HERON’S MUSIC AND BAND MATES CREATED, HAD ON ME. IT APPEARS EVERY POSSIBLE WORD HAS BEEN COVERED.
WHAT I WILL SAY IS I AM ASHAMED, ASHAMED THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN SOME OF THE GREATEST ORATORS AND LEADERS AND ARTIST THAT MEN CAN CREATE. AND WE WHO RECEIVE THE RAIN THAT SOAKS OUR SOULS, AND GIVE US PRIDE THAT WE SEE SOME IMPORTANCE IN OUR EXISTENCE, CAN’T SEEM TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE OUR SAINTS, OUR PROPHETS, OUR VISIONARIES.
I GET IT NOW, GIL IS LAUGHING AT US, HE IS PLAYING OUT OUR PITIFUL RESPONSE TO THE WELL OF GENIUS THAT WE HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO AND STILL WE SIT TRANSFIXED AND NO CLOSER TO FREEDOM, WHY SHOULD HE BE FREE AND WELL AND HEALTHY AND STRONG. ARE WE? HIS LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT SINGING AND DELIVERING TO US REVOLUTION. WE HAVE CHOSE ABSOLUTION, WHAT HE DOES AS A MAN MEANS NOTHING TO WHAT HE HAS INTERPRETED TO US THROUGH HIS GIFT.
HE IS A MAN, NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS. HIS GIFT IS COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM HIS PHYSICAL WEAKNESS. THAT CONSCIOUSNESS THAT HE AND MANY OF HIS BAND MATES TAP INTO IS WHAT WE SEE AND YEARN FOR.
I RESPECT GIL-SCOTT FOR ALLOWING HIMSELF TO BE USED AS A VESSEL AND COMMUNICATING TO US WHAT NEEDS TO BE HEARD. WHEN HE WAS VISUALLY APPEALING TO US DID WE FORM THE STRUCTURES THAT GAVE MEANING TO HIS SONGS? NAH, WE ALL PLAYED THE INSTRUMENTS WITH HIM, AND SANG THE SONGS AND WENT TO THE CONCERTS AND PLAYED THE ALBUMS IN THE QUIET OF OUR HOMES. DID WE AND DO WE HEAR WHAT THE BROTHER IS SAYING?
I CRY FOR US NOT GIL-SCOTT-HERON.
I cannot tell you how many times I snuck into the Harding Theater in San Francisco to see Gil and The Last Poets. I was a budding writer/poet even then and his lyrics mesmerized, energized and inspired me to keep writing. Though much of what he said was in some ways over my head, I hung out with enough older people to get the gist and his delivery had such passion. His words were and remain so very relevant. I was crushed when I learned this brilliant man had gone the way of the crackpipe and he was “doin’ time.” My hope was that he was educating the young brothers in jail, motivating them to overcome their circumstances and return to the world invigorated rather than defeated. This has to be the saddest thing I’ve read in a while because the man remains one of my idols and someone whose words still ring in my head and heart. He’s inspired millions of people around the world and his legacy was cast years ago. As your article clearly states, there are those of us who fell in love with his mind long ago and who will never forget the adrenaline rush of a Gil/Last Poets revival. My prayers go up for him and his family.
Lotta luv in the article and comments for Gil Scott-Heron! I too loved him and thought he was not t gifted and talented, “so fine!” WOW! back in the day…., I loved Brown Eyed Girl and In The Bottle most of all. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, and truly God is more than able to “restore even the years that the locusts have eaten away”! I will remember Mr. Gil Scott-Heron in my prayers!
PEACE EVERYONE…Did youall read the good news that GIL SCOTT-HERON IS ALIVE…GIL IS SO ALIVE that whenever i e-mail, chat-mail, telephone…i don’t get the run around i get GIL. If its dollars i need he favorably responds. We talk regularly for two people who’ve known each other since childhood or at least teenagehood..i performed with him when he came through Atlanta last summer. I am sad to see photos and live scenes of him in an unflattering way but when i think he needs help i offer it to him..and PRAY for him whether he accepts the help or not. He is ALIVE and enjoying the benefits of his work which had been held under contract for twenty five years while ARISTA records and other corportate entitiies predicted and longed for his death
LONG LIVE GIL SCOTT-HERON from the SPIRIT
Thank you Bilal Sunni-Ali for sharing your experience with GSH. It has helped to shift my image of him today from one that is less the self-imploding character painted in the article to one that shows a man who perhaps suffers the consequences of his choices but also remains true to his spirit and nature when he finds the strength to walk tall. I admire his ability to lay bear to the world with such intimacy his love, humor, beliefs, politics, mistakes, and pain. I see that as courage far beyond the average person.
So, my wife and I caught GSH bout 10-15 years ago on a double bill with Tracey Chapman. Back then we speculated about his health and his chemical use. I must have about half of the albums he produced. He is so prophetic and inspirational. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. That song is a graduate triste on rap. B-Movie got me through the torture of the Regan era. His ability to synthysize(sp) historical events into music is unparalled.
Glad to know that he is Alive, pray that he GETS BETTER.
Sometimes owning your own bill of sale comes at a price way to high to pay but the alternative is slavery. Multi-million dollar slavery sometimes but when somebody else owns your spit you gotta watch what comes out of your mouth. It better not be beauty, rage, vision, the songs from your mother’s apron pockets or the blood sweated out of your daddy. You can only sing that spit free. And nine times out of ten, it ain’t ole massa work his hardest to bring you crashing—it’s slaves buried in jewelry and fear of standing off of their knees that will cause the most harm. It don’t pay to be a black genius ahead of their time. No future in it, homes. Folkses like to see the money, don’t care about the bill of sale long as the paper long and green. This doesn’t absolve responsibility. You responsible for your own actions. But used to be a sometime when the community was a church and a church shepherd and a good shepherd doesn’t feel right losing even one ram become a lamb that has lost their way. Used to call that soul. WAKE UP AND BRACE UP PEOPLES!!! If we don’t reach our hand to those who reached their soul to us they ain’t gonna even have to get bills of sale on us any more because we will have sold the man more than he could even buy. We got a black President in the White House. No more sad songs. Not when we can change the key.
[...] Read the full article and watch video from the SOB show. [...]
Quit your bitching and love the Gil you get.
Dear all,
I saw GSH in February in NYC (sobs) and he is not barely alive, but alive. He did recent performances in Denver (beginning of May), did an interview with BBC radio and is working on a new album, nothing barely about that.
A. Taminiau
(Amsterdam)
TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS REQUIRED.
NOBODY KNOWS HIS TROUBLES BUT HIM. NOBODY KNOWS HIS SORROWS.
This is incredible. The comments are as deep as the article.
Brian Jackson actually wrote in. (!!)
Hey, man, it’s all been said but I can’t help adding my own two cents. With the possible exception of the great Nina Simone, I think of Gil Scott-Heron as black music’s preeminent musical communicator of the last forty years. Not a coincidence that both he and Nina had their issues with trying to get out of their own heads.
How’d you like to be that caring, that knowledgeable, that conscious and then also gifted enough to accurately share all of that caring, knowledge and consciousness? And then – and this is probably the part that has them reaching for the pipe, the bottle or the needle – you can’t do a fucking thing about it except sing?
As much as I’d love to be able to turn a melodic phrase or play a few notes on a piano as brilliantly as Nina or Gil (even once! JUST ONCE!!), I wouldn’t switch places with them even for a weekend, a day or an hour. The price for all of that truth and beauty is far, far too much to bear.
Gil is one of my musical heroes. Hell, forget music. He’s one of my heroes, period. And no matter what other crazy shit he does, says or ingests before he passes on, he will always be a hero to me.
I do hope he gets better but I also understand he probably won’t. The only thing any of us can hope for him is peace. And like someone else said, the thing we have to realize is he’s nothing but a man. No more, no less than the rest of us. Just a man….
Peace be with you, brother. You’re loved by many.
- Mtume.
I had the chance to see Gil in Denver a couple of weeks ago, he looked better that expected and his voice and strength appeared to be very good. I have known Gil for close to 40years and have been concerned about his well being, as we all have. Needless to say iIwas very surprised at how well he looked and sounded. We spoke briefly but I didn’t get a chance to have a long conversation with him. He also did two other shows in the Denver area that weekend.
I once had the unique privilege of appearing before Gil on stage, doing my own poetry. He was and is one of a kind and a great inspiration. He once dedicated a song, I don’t remember which one, to my mother at the Roxy and the look on her face was drop dead pleasure.
Brian Jackson info…
http://www.brianjackson.net/
I met Gil Scott Heron at Linclon University, he used to visit our dorm room periodically, and I attended all his concerts at Lincoln with Brian Jackson. At the time I did not realize that I was in the presence of a genius. I recently saw him perform with Mos Def at Carnegie Hall. Mos Def was amazingly graceful and cried when he introduced him. Like most of the great ones, Gil is a troubled soul …and expressed his pain through his work/art. As his partner of many years echoed in her above comments, Gil has childhood pains that must be “cleaned up” and reconciled before he can get to personal self-mastery and “light”. Through his pain and personal sacrifice we continue to enjoy his inspirational and evolutionary words….I pray for his to recognize, celebrate and shine his light” in this life or the next.
Reading this article and comments made me reflect on my shared years with Gil at Lincoln U. Two memorable experiences with Gil, known as Spiderman on campus, was playing endless games of Pinochle in the Student Union Building where I “rubbed his head” often, and his on campus protest leadership efforts in 1970 following the Jackson State massacre which led to the premature school closing due to KKK threats. My remembrance of Gil is as a friend and social inspirer during my formidable years despite life trials and tribulations. Love is in the heart not sight which lives forever!.
I am awe-struck by the comments. Reading each one I dipped deeper and deeper into my soul….bringing back memories, ambitions, experiences, acquaintances, friends and the spirit of the time when Gil Scott-Heron was the trumpeter of hope…and yes, the rage of current circumstance. DC in the 70s was a real mixed bag for those of us living in the “bowel of the beast.” We witnessed and were part of the counter-culture, the “no knock” laws…anti-war demonstrations…feminist uprisings…and of course, personal revolutions that would never be televised. And in the middle of all this?? Gil….always Gil…as the prophet of all that we wanted to happen in our lifetimes….and the soothsayer of all of our dispair and frustration.
Now, that I’ve shed my “bricks&board” environment and upgraded to real furniture…now don the acceptable wardrobe for my corporate clients…..sip a higher priced wine….I still carry in my soul and spirit the haunting melodies and messages meant to shake our people out of our doldrums to understand the world in which we live….thank you Gil and Brian…thank you Nina…thank you Trane…thank you Byrd….and the many others that who keep me grounded and observant. And for those of you I know and who have been mentioned in this “Comment” trail….so glad to know that life, thought, and deep reflection are still alive and well.
I am acquainted with “Scotty” because we grew up in our mothers’ church. Berean Baptist. I remember him fondly as the little boy who seemed so much younger than the 2 years he is than me and how he had to be shooed away and stopped from banging on the piano at churc. He was so bent on playing it. I too am saddened to learn more of his downward spiral.
My understanding is when he was but an infant or of tender age his parents separated and his mother brought him to Jackson to live with his grandmother, Mrs. Lillie Scott. She was a pillar in our church and there is still a church group of mostly widows who belong to “The Lillie Scott Circle.” Scotty was lively, but not disorderly because Mrs. Scott was not having that.
By 195-60 in spite of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Brown v Board of Education case by our public schools were still segregated. When Scotty was an 8th grader, he became one of 3 black students to desegregated I.B. Tigrett Junior High School. The next year Mrs. Scott died and his mother took him back to New York City. I know how much of a challenge integrating Tigrett was for them because 2 years later that experience became a part of mine at the local white high school as the lone black student.
in January 1963.
I was living in Philadelphia, PA in the early ’70s when after all those years I looked up and saw Scotty
on the television reciting some of his poetry. I called the tv station, learned it was a taped show and I gave name and phone number and asked them to have him call me. They tracked him down and two weeks later he came to visit me. He was doing exciting things and i was inspired! He told me he had dropped out of Lincoln University in Chester, PA, but since he had been published, he had returned there as a guest faculty member. He was on his way to a Master’s Program at John Hopkins University – without having a Bachelor’s degree. I rejoiced with him and it was a great reunion.
I left Philly, married a Jamaican straight from the island and moved back to Jackson. I came across an article about “Gil Scott-Heron” in Newsweek which informed me more about his parentage. It stated that his father, Mr. Heron, was a Jamaican professional polo player.. It was an impressive article. I wrote a letter to the editor which much to my surprised was published. In my letter expressed my hope that when we had children there would be the same kind of artistic magic in the mixture of our American-Jamaican bloodlines as his parents.
About 8 years ago our paths crossed again when Scotty was brought back to Jackson to headliner African Street Festival by SAACA ( Society for African American Culture Association), a non-profit. The event planners and some of us knew of the problems and issues he was having even then, but that could not dampen our enthusiasm about his return to our hometown. After his performance, Madeleine Walker, also one of the 3 black Tigrett students, and I visited with him. That too was a great reunion!
My Jamaican husband and I had two daughters, Felicia and Pamela, and were divorced when they were 5 and 7 in 1982. Many years later a Nashville friend who knew Scotty was a “Jackson,TN Nugget”, purchased one of his CDs and sent it to me. Scotty was certainly before their time and I had not talked about him to them – except maybe about that Tigrett thing. Around age 23 my younger daughter became a hip-hop artist and writer and when she spied Scotty’s CD as soon as I unwrapped it, before I had to chance to listen to it once, she swooped it up with my permission. At the time she lived across the street from me, but It took several years to get it back. My favorite is “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” followed closely by “Johannesburg.”
When I listen to it now he, she sounds like a prophet. The same issues he was singing about then are just as or more relevant today. The names of the key players in the political arena are different. Yes a lot of things are different and everything must change. I recently retired as a classroom teacher of history to 8th graders at I.B. Tigrett Middle School after 13 years of service. The school is now majority African-Ameerican as private schools, “Christian” schools and home schooling, have proliferated in our county as well as across America.
Scotty is only about 60,61 now and recovery from some things for him is still possible. I pray Scotty has embraced our mother’s faith and belief in Jesus Christ as his personal savior. At the end of our lives, that’s all that really matters. We have alI missed some of the blessings stored up for us because of our proclivities and poor decision-making. I join others who are asking God to restored to him all that God wants him to have in this life because the best is yet to come! I wish he would come back home to Jackson.
Thanks for the article and all of these comments. It is sad to hear of GSH’s life today. The comments remind me of the joy, love, and power that his songs still inspire in me.
it’s so nice to know there are many that are concerned about gil. Check out some new stuff gil is doing, good to see, and as Bilal says, long live gil! He is needed. Show your support, contact the label, thank them…… http://imnewhere.net/
I still listen to his music, I remember Blues Alley where he played so often. I miss him he is truly a rare soul.
Another great musical prophet prepares for his departure.I loved him then I love him now anwe should always love him for now an evermore. Study his previous messages inhis music.If anyone knows an address to contact him please let me know.
TaRessa – Great article. In the early 80s I saw Gil Scott-Heron at the New Morning Jazz Club in Paris’s 10th Arrondissement. The club was full of tres’ chic African Americans and hyper-cool Parisians, heavy Gauloises cigarette smoke swirled around us mingling with our Kir Royals and rich red wines. We were so on! This was a momentous event with an iconic artist and we all knew it. The air crackled with anticipation. On to the stage he walked to our cheers and crazy applause. Though his drug problem was evident even then, Gil still had his take-no-prisoners swagger and he proceeded to blow our righteous minds with his unrelenting brilliance and artistry.
Now I sit listening to the npr interview with him. I can breath now. His voice resonates with the wear and tear of years of abuse but the force of his personality is in tact on new music being released next week. Thanks to Richard Russell, British record producer, who in 2007 ushered Gil from his incarceration directly into the studio (you gotta’ love those Brits). Their combined efforts has given birth to “I’m New Here.” Raw, gritty, experimental, visionary, forever relevant – Gil Scott-Heron.
Mad props to G-SH. I celebrate his music, his struggle, and his life. His new album is up there with Winter in America. I am not writing him off. I don’t think he is near death. I don’t care if he is HIV positive. He is the most thought-provoking writer, poet and beautiful mind I have ever come across. I saw him at Bimbos in the late 80s and sat front and center. I felt like I had my own private showing. Lilly Scott must have been one hell of a woman. I hope my son feels the same way about me one day; more importantly, I hope he can express his feelings. Our respective journeys are….I hope Gil’s includes much more music….
I had the same feelings as TaRessa in viewing footage of Gil and probably the same reaction… initially. I have seen Gil in concert many times, have met him and have always been a self appointed promoter of GSH – Midnight Band – Amnesia Express to others yet, like Bryna, I experienced asking myself could I handle it in deciding to go to see him in concert. Then something happened –
I began to wonder how all of this history is going to be preserved without Gil.
It is my personal assessment that Gil is not a person to be coerced into doing anything, and that Gil knows exactly where Gil is at in all aspects of his life. It’s also his business what he does about it. However, there is one thing we all can do our part in: stop feeling hurt about it long enough to step up and do what we can to preserve the legacy of the music. That includes everyone involved. Oh sure, there are lists on Wikipedia and a zillion other websites – music available at amazon.com, online bios, discography’s etc., etc., but where do our people get the truth of it all. The entire story, the entire legacy?
From a personal experience I had during my college years I know this is important. I wrote a paper on Gil and in the process had to visit the U of Pa. Library – guess where the N Factory book was? In the rare book collection. Dah? Had I just been satisfied with looking and not finding it, walked out the library and NOT asked for it I would have never known it was there. I did it again at another venue in NYC – “inquired about material on GSH and was met with this statement – “What’s so big about GSH?” After calmly and intelligently citing a few facts in answer to the question and silently steaming over the fact that I had even been asked the question (and I was steaming for months) I was delighted to see his name on their concert list a year later. Later, the professor I was writing it for started teaching on an African American literature. I prefer to believe that the research on and introduction to Gil was responsible for that person’s choice, I could be wrong but the timing made it appear to be so.
Yes the legacy is there, it’s accessible in a variety of places but if everyone starts this trend libraries (including those on college campuses) will eventually have to meet the demand. Maybe someone knows a philantropist who will help found one entity totally dedicated to this particular legacy. Too many times African Americans leave their own trials and triumphs to the work of someone else to organize and document. Let’ s stop whining and get our game on. There is enough scholarly work that went into the music. There is enough unusual talent involved as well as the performances and compositions themselves. There are “some” works in the Schomburg to my knowledge but what about the whole picture? We are talking about a world wide-world renowned body of work and musicians.
Brian, wouldn’t you say that something you put years of creative genius into is a legacy that needs to be left in its completeness for the next generation and the one after that? I have footage and artwork related to GSH and the Amnesia Express. I think that Gil and you are loved enough that people would come forward with things you do not even know are out there. Concert Photos, writings, great stories, etc.
The other thing is that Gil stated in an interview that he would like to do something with Q. Why not? Nothing is impossible. Somebody tell Q. You never know what will happen when someone’s heart’s desire is fulfilled. I’ll do my part – how about the rest of you? I hope everyone that reads this will do theirs too.
Two years ago article was a wonderful and surprising piece that answered questions I did not know I had. Today it is a poignant vision of what was to come. I think the gentleman who suggested that often we fail to care for the talent among us is correct.
Janet Singleton