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Skriven 2006-06-26 23:35:42 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0606268) for Mon, 2006 Jun 26
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President Bush Celebrates Black Music Month
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 26, 2006

President Bush Celebrates Black Music Month
The East Room

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ African American History

5:23 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Glad you're here. Thank you all. Welcome to the White House,
and thank you for joining us as we celebrate Black Music Month.

I wish Laura were here, but she's got a good excuse. She's in New Orleans.
She went down there to talk to the American Library Association's Annual
Conference, and she spoke about the importance of rebuilding school
libraries up and down the Gulf Coast of our country. She sends her best. I
wish she could be here to hear the music. I know she's going to love it as
much as I will love it.

I'm looking forward to introducing our artists here in a second. I do want
to recognize Alphonso Jackson, who's a member of my Cabinet. Thank you for
coming and thank you for bringing us here -- (applause.) And it's good to
see the federal coordinator for the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort, Don
Powell. Thank you for being here, sir. (Applause.) I welcome Chip Pickering
from Mississippi, and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. Thank
you both for coming, I'm proud you're here. (Applause.)

It is always a special treat to be in the presence of Dr. Dorothy Height.
Good to see you, Dr. Height. (Applause.) And with us we have two great
athletes, Alana Beard -- thank you for coming, Alana -- and Kareem Abdul
Jabar. Proud you're here. (Applause.)

I don't know whether you know this, but Kareem Abdul Jabar is a jazz
expert, and he is working on a documentary about the connection between
jazz and basketball. (Laughter.) Pretty good combination. (Laughter.)

During this month, we recognize the great contributions that black music
has made to our nation. That's why we're here. We express our gratitude to
the artists whose works have inspired our nation and have brought such
beauty into the world.

Black music was often born of great pain, from the music of slaves who sang
to warn others that the master was coming, to the music of faith that
helped African Americans endure tremendous suffering and overcome
injustice. Black music is a really important part of our nation's history
and culture, and that's why we're celebrating it here today. (Applause.)

Some of the finest performances by black musicians have been heard right
here in the White House, and we're going to continue that tradition today.
During -- in 1878, during the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes,
soprano Marie Seilka became the first black artist to perform here in the
White House. A few years later, the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University
became the first black choir to perform here. They moved President Chester
Arthur to tears with a rendition of "Safe in the Arms of Jesus." Like the
man they sang about, the Jubilee Singers could not find an inn that would
welcome them here in Washington, D.C. Those times have changed, thank
goodness.

In more recent times, the White House has been graced by performances by
artists like Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha
Franklin, Shirley Caesar, Duke Ellington, and Lionel Hampton. These men and
women created some of the greatest music America has ever produced, and
they honored our country by sharing their gifts right here in the people's
house. We're about to have the same type of performances here -- if I can
ever quit talking. (Laughter.)

This year Black Music Month celebrates the music of our nation's Gulf
Coast, soul and blues and jazz. And I'm honored that we've got three
tremendous performers who represent the best of these three great
traditions.

Patti Austin is one of America's most talented singers and songwriters. Her
extraordinary career began at the age of four, when she made her debut
alongside her godmother, Dinah Washington, at Harlem's famed Apollo
Theater. Since then, she's recorded 16 solo albums, featuring everything
from soul to standards. Recently Patti earned her sixth Grammy nomination
with her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. Patti is an incredible artist. Laura
and I have been privileged to see her perform at the Kennedy Center. I
think you're going to like her a lot. (Laughter.) She's sung at the White
House for every President since Ronald Reagan.

When she was rehearsing her performance for President Reagan, Patti was
singing so powerfully a piece of molding fell from the ceiling here in the
East Room. (Laughter.) Be forewarned. (Laughter.) When Patti sings, she
brings down the house. (Laughter.) I'm proud to join the distinguished line
of Presidents who have welcomed her here to the White House.

With us today is B.B. King, "King of the Blues." (Applause.) B.B. was
raised in the Mississippi Delta, where he picked cotton for 35 cents a day,
and then he played after work on the street corners for dimes. He says that
when he sang gospel songs, "They'd pat me on the head, but wouldn't ever
put anything in the hat." (Laughter.) So he would change, "my Lord" to "my
baby" -- (laughter) -- and then they always gave him a tip. (Laughter.)

One night in the 1950s, B.B. King was playing in an Arkansas town called
Twist when two men got in a fight over a woman and knocked over a kerosene
stove and set the whole place on fire. B.B. got out, but then he realized
he had left his guitar behind. And so he went back inside, he braved the
flames, and he rescued the guitar. Later, he learned that the lady who had
inspired the brawl was named Lucille. So that's what he named his guitar.

Since then, B.B. and Lucille have played more than 10,000 shows. They have
thrilled audiences all over the world. B.B. has notched an incredible 74
entries on the Billboard charts, and his work has influenced virtually
every major guitar player over the last half-century. He remains gracious
and humble, what folks in Mississippi call, "free-hearted."

B.B. says this about his career: "I'm trying to get people to see that we
are our brother's keeper." He went on to say, "Red, black, brown, yellow,
rich or poor, we all have the blues." It's hard to have the blues when
you're about to hear B.B. King perform. At 80, this ageless star is still
going strong, and we are thrilled to welcome him back to the White House.
(Applause.)

We're also pleased to welcome Irvin Mayfield -- (applause.) Irvin is the
cultural ambassador of New Orleans, and artistic director of the New
Orleans Jazz Orchestra. At just 28 years old, Irvin has already become one
of America's finest trumpet players in the great New Orleans jazz
tradition. He's more than a musician, he's a decent, big-hearted man.

Last year as Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans, the rising water
took his dad, Irvin, Sr. The pain of losing his father was suddenly
unimaginable. Yet in his father's name, Irvin pushed back his grief and he
went to work. He pulled out his trumpet, he pulled together his orchestra
and started performing to help others who had lost homes and loved ones. He
helped dry New Orleans' tears through the inspiring power of his music, and
he hasn't stopped.

He's using his God-given talent to help rebuild his beloved homeland -- his
hometown, one brick and one note at a time. After the storm, Irvin made
this solemn vow: No breached levee will wash away at culture of New
Orleans.

There's a wonderful and unique tradition in New Orleans called the jazz
funeral. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets,
followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery.
Once the casket has been laid in place, and the mourners have moved out of
the cemetery, the music begins to speed up and the procession is joined by
a joyful second line, with crowds of people dancing and celebrating the
triumph of spirit over death.

Today, Irvin Mayfield will play a song in the great tradition called, Just
a Closer Walk With Thee. It's the first song he learned from his dad. He
played it at his dad's -- in his dad's memory after Hurricane Katrina, and
then he retired the song. We're honored that he's decided to play it one
last time, right here in the White House.

Irvin, we thank you for your personal courage and your dedication to others
in a time of adversity. I have no doubt that with every good deed you
perform and every note you play, your dad is smiling down on you. God bless
you, Irvin.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Irvin Mayfield. (Applause.)

END 5:42 P.M. EDT
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