Wednesday, September 20, 2017

The Best of Bernie Casey...RIP

This is only a small fraction of this legend's accomplishments. His meatier roles can't be embedded and I was really hoping that that his 1979 TV drama, Harris and Company would be available in some form. More than two decades before Flex Alexander played a single Black father in a network show, Casey did it first in an hour-long drama. After it was unceremoniously dropped from ABC's lineup, these episodes haven't seen the light of day since.

 
Thank you for sharing your talents with the world, Mr. Casey.

Black Hooker Movie Review

It's about time huh? This was one of the first "gems" I got to see and On Bounce TV's Sugar streaming service ( did I mention there's a lot to choose from now). Anyway, this is another flick from the blaxploitation film era with dual titles, the alternate being Street Sisters. I don't understand the latter since only one hooker is the focus. This 1974 indie flick is set in a mostly rural town (on yeah, there are no big names attached to this one) where a young lady who grew up on a farm gives birth to a biracial child. Instead of going with someone light skin and wavy hair, they did the Alan Willis (from the Jeffersons TV series) only they used some one who looked more like one of the Beach Boys. The woman's religious parents are forced to raise the bar while she breezed in every so often pushing some vintage whip, dragging on a cigarette. While the boy loves his family, he would rather hang out with Mom father than work on the farm. Since no farm means no place to stay, the young man ventures out into the city. Along with his grandparents, he leaves behind someone special. With a few twists and turns, this isn't a complete waste of 90 minutes. However, if you plan to make this a couch surfing session, I'd recommend something of substance like Five on the Black Hand Side or The Landlord.

Former Leader of Black Heat Dies

Their music has been sampled by Biggie, Mc Lyte and was once featured in an episode of Scandal. However, Black Heat was one of those rare entities in funk that was mostly overlooked by the history books. On September 16, leader King Raymond Green passed away from causes currently unknown. Courtesy of Soul Tracks. Though Black Heat would go on to have a strong following in DC's Go-Go music scene, Green would go on to have a successful career in music on his own terms. After the group broke up in the late 1970's, he would study Audio Engineering at Drexel University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1981. Green was also a member of The Original Clovers and CEO of his own Powerhouse Productions. His songwriting and audio engineering skills were in great demand with recording legends like Carlos Santana,Harvey Fuqua,and the late Chuck Brown.