365 DAYS PROJECT

2003   JULY 3   #184

Dick Jenkins - It's About Time

Back in the mid-1970s, a Memphis DJ named Dick Withers cooked up a foolproof plan to alleviate America's growing racial tensions. Withers, a well-intentioned white man, would solve the problem by making a record in which he would describe the hardships blacks faced in America, enumerate the ways in which their presence in society has enhanced our national culture, and name those blacks – all of them either athletes or entertainers -- who've been a credit to their race. Recording under the name Dick Jenkins, Withers then layered his recitation over the strains (and I do mean strains) of a gospel choir wailing on "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic." The completed track brings new meaning to the word "patronizing."

- Phil Milstein, http://www.aspma.com

TT-3:47 / 4.3MB / 160kbps 44.1khz