An Anti-Racist Song From The 1950s

Carmen McRae recorded a beautiful tune in 1958 called "Georgia Rose" (found on the CD, Carmen McRae's Finest Hour on the Verve label).There's a line in it that goes "Don't be blue, 'cause you're black, Georgia Rose." The tune, written by Jimmy Flynn, Harry Rosenthal, and Alexander Sullivan,  was very bold for its time with its anti-racist, black is beautiful message. I mentioned this song in a blog post in 2012. It would be useful if someone, maybe me, wrote an article or a book about the origin of the song.

Two Civil Rights Songs

If I were a radio deejay like the late New York broadcaster Danny Stiles ("The Vicar of Vintage"), I'd play Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit." And then I'd segue into "Georgia Rose" by Carmen McRae. The songs complement each other. Both were recorded two years apart during the Civil Rights Movement days of the 1950s. One dealt with lynching, the other promoted racial pride and self-esteem.

The Fabulous Carmen McRae

Carmen McRae (1922?-1994) really knew how to breathe life into a song. On her recording of George and Ira Gershwin's "How Long Has This Been Going On?," there is this wonderful lyric: "What a kick/how I buzz/boy you click like no one does." When she gets to the word "buzz" she stretches it out like the sound of a honeybee in flight--"buzzzzzz." Carmen McRae, what an artist!